Glean, n. A collection made by
gleaning.
The gleans of yellow thyme distend his
thighs.
Dryden.Glean, n. Cleaning;
afterbirth. [Obs.] Holland.
Glean (?), v. t. [imp. & p.
p. Gleaned (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Gleaning.] [OE. glenen, OF. glener,
glaner, F. glaner, fr. LL. glenare; cf. W.
glan clean, glanh?u to clean, purify, or AS.
gelm, gilm, a hand?ul.]
1. To gather after a reaper; to collect in
scattered or fragmentary parcels, as the grain left by a reaper, or
grapes left after the gathering.
To glean the broken ears after the man
That the main harvest reaps.
Shak.
2. To gather from (a field or vineyard) what
is left.
3. To collect with patient and minute labor;
to pick out; to obtain.
Content to glean what we can from . . .
experiments.
Locke.Glean, v. i. 1. To
gather stalks or ears of grain left by reapers.
And she went, and came, and gleaned in the
field after the reapers.
Ruth ii. 3.
2. To pick up or gather anything by
degrees.
Piecemeal they this acre first, then that;
Glean on, and gather up the whole estate.
Pope.