different between obtain vs glean

English

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman obtenir, optiner et al., and Middle French obtenir, from Latin obtin?re (“to gain, achieve, succeed, possess”), from ob- + ten?re (“to hold”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?b?te?n/
• Rhymes: -e?n
• Homophone: abthane

Verb

obtain (third-person singular simple present obtains, present participle obtaining, simple past and past participle obtained)

1. (transitive) To get hold of; to gain possession of, to procure; to acquire, in any way. [from 15th c.]
   • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Luke XVIII:

     And a certayne ruler axed him: sayinge: Goode Master: what ought I to do, to obtaine eternall lyfe?
2. (intransitive, obsolete) To secure (that) a specific objective or state of affairs be reached. [15th–19th c.]
   • 1722, Daniel Defoe, Colonel Jack:

     he was condemned to die for the felony, and being so well known for an old offender, had certainly died, but the merchant, upon his earnest application, had obtained that he should be transported, on condition that he restored all the rest of his bills, which he had done accordingly.

3. (intransitive, obsolete) To prevail, be victorious; to succeed. [15th–19th c.]
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.2:

     “O daughter deare!” (said she) “despeire no whit; / For never sore but might a salve obtain [...].”

   • 1701, Jonathan Swift, Contests and Dissentions in Athens and Rome:

     This, though it failed at present, yet afterward obtained, and was a mighty step to the ruin of the commonwealth.

4. (transitive, obsolete) To hold; to keep, possess or occupy. [15th–18th c.]
5. (intransitive) To exist or be the case; to hold true, be in force. [from 17th c.]
   • 1908, Jack London, The Iron Heel, ChapterXVII,

     Even though the Pervaise confession had never come to light, no reasonable doubt could obtain; for the act in question […] was on a par with countless other acts committed by the oligarchs, and, before them, by the capitalists.

   • 1992, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, Bantam Spectra, p. 460,

     But the hostage situation no longer obtains, and so Uncle Enzo feels it important to stop Rife now, […]

Related terms

Translations

Anagrams

• Bonita, boat-in

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English glenen, from Anglo-Norman glener, from Late Latin glen(n)? (“make a collection”), from Gaulish, possibly from Proto-Celtic *glanos.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?li?n/
• Hyphenation: glean
• Rhymes: -i?n

Verb

glean (third-person singular simple present gleans, present participle gleaning, simple past and past participle gleaned)

1. To collect (grain, grapes, etc.) left behind after the main harvest or gathering.

   Synonym: lease

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

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

3. (figuratively) To gather information in small amounts, with implied difficulty, bit by bit.

   Synonym: learn

   • 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.

Translations

Noun

glean (plural gleans)

1. A collection made by gleaning.

   • The gleans of yellow thyme distend his thighs.

Etymology 2

Noun

glean

1. (obsolete) cleaning; afterbirth

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Holland to this entry?)

References

Anagrams

• -angle, Angel, Angle, Elgan, Galen, Lange, Legan, Nagle, agnel, angel, angle, genal, lenga

Manx

Noun

glean m

1. Eclipsed form of clean.

Mutation