be gathered to one's fathers
/biː ˈɡæðəd tuː wʌnz ˈfɑːðəz/
"be-gathered-to-one-s-fathers" is a 23-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“be gathered to one's fathers” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 28
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To be buried together with one's forebears; hence, to die.
Corpus desk
Index EN-be-gathered-to-one-s-fat · be gathered to one's fathers · English
be gathered to one's fathers · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 28 letters
- VOW-9 9 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "B" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | be gathered to one's fathers |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /biː ˈɡæðəd tuː wʌnz ˈfɑːðəz/ |
| Letters | 28 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “be gathered to one's fathers” in English
Rare enough to double-check
be gathered to one's fathers is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /biː ˈɡæðəd tuː wʌnz ˈfɑːðəz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To be buried together with one's forebears; hence, to die.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for be gathered to one's fathers, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From various passages in the Bible, including Judges 2:10, and 1 Maccabees 2:69 in the Apocrypha (see the quotations), from From Biblical Hebrew נֶאֱסַף אֶל־אֲבוֹתָיו (neʾĕsap ʾel-ʾăḇôṯâw) and Koine Greek προσετέθη πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας αὐτοῦ (prosetéthē pròs t… The correct English form is be gathered to one's fathers, spelled B-E- -G-A-T-H-E-R-E-D- -T-O- -O-N-E-'-S- -F-A-T-H-E-R-S.
Definition
- 1To be buried together with one's forebears; hence, to die.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how be gathered to one's fathers appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
And alſo all that generacion was gathered vnto their fathers, and an other generacion aroſe after them, which nether knewe the Lord, nor yet the workes, which he had done for Iſraél.
So he bleſſed them, and was gathered to his fathers.
Etymology
From various passages in the Bible, including Judges 2:10, and 1 Maccabees 2:69 in the Apocrypha (see the quotations), from From Biblical Hebrew נֶאֱסַף אֶל־אֲבוֹתָיו (neʾĕsap ʾel-ʾăḇôṯâw) and Koine Greek προσετέθη πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας αὐτοῦ (prosetéthē pròs toùs patéras autoû, Apocrypha).
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.