• (British) IPA: /ɡliːn/

glean (gleans, present participle gleaning; past and past participle gleaned)

1. To collect (grain, grapes, etc.) left behind after the main harvest or gathering.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), imprinted at London: By Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981 ↗, Ruth 2:2 ↗:

     Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace.

   • c. 1598–1600, William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act III, scene v]:

     To glean the broken ears after the man / That the main harvest reaps.

2. To gather what is left in (a field or vineyard).

   to glean a field

3. To gather information in small amounts, with implied difficulty, bit by bit.
   • 1689 (indicated as 1690)​, [John Locke], An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Thomas Basset, […], OCLC 153628242 ↗:

     content to glean what we can from […] experiments

   • 8 December 2011, BBC News, Iran shows film of captured US drone, available in http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16098562 :

     He said Iran was "well aware of what priceless technological information" could be gleaned from the aircraft.

4. To frugally accumulate resources from low-yield contexts.

   He gleaned a living from newspaper work for a few months, but in the summer went to a fishing village […] where […] he wrote his great historical drama, "Master Olof." (Translators Edith and Warner Oland on author August Strindberg.)

• (pick up, gather, collect) lease
• (gather information) learn

• French: glaner
• German: nachlesen, schmorren
• Italian: racimolare, spigolare
• Portuguese: respigar, catar
• Russian: подбира́ть
• Spanish: espigar

• French: glaner
• German: herausbekommen, zusammentragen
• Italian: racimolare, raccogliere, raccattare
• Russian: собира́ть
• Spanish: espigar, entresacar

glean (plural gleans)

1. A collection made by gleaning.

   • The gleans of yellow thyme distend his thighs.

glean

1. (obsolete) cleaning; afterbirth