glean

Etymology 1

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

verb

1. To collect what is left behind (grain, grapes, etc.) after the main harvest or gathering.
2. To gather what is left in (a field or vineyard).
   to glean a field
3. (figurative) To gather information in small amounts, with implied difficulty, bit by bit.
   He said Iran was "well aware of what priceless technological information" could be gleaned from the aircraft. 8 December 2011, BBC News, Iran shows film of captured US drone, available in http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16098562
4. To frugally accumulate resources from low-yield contexts.
   He [August Strindberg] 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. 1912, Edith and Warner Oland, “Biographical Note”, in Three Plays By August Strindberg, page xi

noun

1. A collection made by gleaning.
   The gleans of yellow thyme distend his thighs.

Etymology 2

noun

1. (obsolete) cleaning; afterbirth