The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Collect \Col*lect"\, v. i.
   1. To assemble together; as, the people collected in a crowd;
      to accumulate; as, snow collects in banks.
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   2. To infer; to conclude. [Archaic]
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            Whence some collect that the former word imports a
            plurality of persons.                 --South.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Collect \Col*lect"\ (k[o^]l*l[e^]kt"), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
   Collected; p. pr. & vb. n. Collecting.] [L. collecrus, p.
   p. of collerige to bind together; col- + legere to gather:
   cf. OF. collecter. See Legend, and cf. Coil, v. t.,
   Cull, v. t.]
   1. To gather into one body or place; to assemble or bring
      together; to obtain by gathering.
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            A band of men
            Collected choicely from each country. --Shak.
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            'Tis memory alone that enriches the mind, by
            preserving what our labor and industry daily
            collect.                              --Watts.
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   2. To demand and obtain payment of, as an account, or other
      indebtedness; as, to collect taxes.
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   3. To infer from observed facts; to conclude from premises.
      [Archaic.] --Shak.
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            Which sequence, I conceive, is very ill collected.
                                                  --Locke.
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   To collect one's self, to recover from surprise,
      embarrassment, or fear; to regain self-control.

   Syn: To gather; assemble; congregate; muster; accumulate;
        garner; aggregate; amass; infer; deduce.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Collect \Col"lect\, n. [LL. collecta, fr. L. collecta a
   collection in money; an assemblage, fr. collerige: cf. F.
   collecte. See Collect, v. t.]
   A short, comprehensive prayer, adapted to a particular day,
   occasion, or condition, and forming part of a liturgy.
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         The noble poem on the massacres of Piedmont is strictly
         a collect in verse.                      --Macaulay.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

collect
    adv 1: make a telephone call or mail a package so that the
           recipient pays; "call collect"; "send a package collect"
    adj 1: payable by the recipient on delivery; "a collect call";
           "the letter came collect"; "a COD parcel" [syn:
           collect, cod]
    n 1: a short prayer generally preceding the lesson in the Church
         of Rome or the Church of England
    v 1: get or gather together; "I am accumulating evidence for the
         man's unfaithfulness to his wife"; "She is amassing a lot
         of data for her thesis"; "She rolled up a small fortune"
         [syn: roll up, collect, accumulate, pile up,
         amass, compile, hoard]
    2: call for and obtain payment of; "we collected over a million
       dollars in outstanding debts"; "he collected the rent" [syn:
       collect, take in]
    3: assemble or get together; "gather some stones"; "pull your
       thoughts together" [syn: gather, garner, collect, pull
       together] [ant: distribute, spread]
    4: get or bring together; "accumulate evidence" [syn: collect,
       pull in]
    5: gather or collect; "You can get the results on Monday"; "She
       picked up the children at the day care center"; "They pick up
       our trash twice a week" [syn: collect, pick up, gather
       up, call for]