Re: 'together vs. to gather'

Tim May wrote:

> Philippe Caquant wrote at 2004-01-17 08:02:15 (-0800)
>
>  > If you had to draw a symbol for "to gather" or "to disperse" (both
>  > intransitive), how would you do ? You would probably draw several
>  > arrows (at least three) into separate directions from a same point,
>  > or pointing to a single point from different directions (see
>  > PowerPoint symbols for ex). With other verbs of movement (to go, to
>  > go up / down, to go around, etc), you would draw a single arrow,
>  > oriented one or another way, straight or curve, etc. That's way I
>  > think that those verbs contain a seme of "plural".
>
> Yes, but if you draw a diagram of, say, a magnetic field, you also
> have to draw multiple arrows.  These aren't real entities, they're
> just the best way we have of indicating a vector field on paper - in
> reality, the field is continuous.  So I don't find this particular
> argument very persuasive.
I'm with Philippe on this matter.........
Doesn't even a depiction of a magnetic field involve _multiple_ things
arranged around a central point?  (I'm thinking of what appears when you
take a sheet of paper with iron filings, and put a magnet underneath it--
(what would it look like if there were only _one_ iron filing?), or
depictions of the earth's magnetic field, in which the poles are the foci).
>
> I'm not sure convinced either way as to whether "gather" implies
> plurality.  I would suggest that it's language-dependant... I mean,
> there are a lot of subtly different usages of "gather" in English, and
> it seems to me that some of them imply a kind of plurality, even when
> used with mass nouns, and others don't.
Can you come up with some examples, especially where an idea of plurality
_isn't_ involved??  I don't think it's language specific; it's inherent in
the meaning of "gather"-- (intrans.) to come together, (trans.) to bring
(cause to come) together.

I can't offhand think of other verbs that require plural or mass
subjects/objects, but there are certainly verbs that require _animate_ (and
in some cases perhaps even  +human) subjects/objects-- John loves Mary, *the
stone/the truth loves Mary.  Things like "Mary loves her diamond ring" are
metaphoric extensions.

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