Forgather - foregather

The verb 'to forgather' is sometimes spelled 'foregather'. Both spellings are recorded in OED. (For a note on some of the confusions in this area, see for- - fore-. You may also like to look in the category:words beginning for-.)

AWE's advice is to spell it without the '-e-'. This is because it is derived from the Dutch word vergaderen, which means 'to assemble', 'to meet' or 'to associate'. (The word is in essence Scots, where it was "Now commonly used to denote an accidental meeting" (Jamieson, John (1825) An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language 1808, Supplement 1825; reprint of 1879–82; cited in OED).) It does NOT mean 'to meet beforehand' - although some think it does. The prefix is most conveniently thought of as for- in one of its several meanings, not as '[be]fore'.