be gathered to one's fathers
Syllables: be ga·thered to one's fa·thersUK/biː ˈɡæðəd tuː wʌnz ˈfɑːðəz//bi ˈɡæðɚd tə wʌnz ˈfɑðɚz/
be gathered to one's fathers verb: to be buried together with one's forebears; hence, to die.
Verb
be gathered to one's fathers (third-person singular simple present is gathered to one's fathers, present participle being gathered to one's fathers, simple past was gathered to one's fathers, past participle been gathered to one's fathers)
- To be buried together with one's forebears; hence, to die.
- 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.[1560, [William Whittingham et al., transl.], The Bible and Holy Scriptures Conteyned in the Olde and Newe Testament. […] (the Geneva Bible), Geneva: […] Rouland Hall, →OCLC, Ivdges II:10, folio 109...
- So he bleſſed them, and was gathered to his fathers.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Maccabees 2:69, column 1
- Synonyms:
- be gathered to one's people, be laid unto one's fathers, be put to one's fathers, sleep with one's fathers, assume room temperature, auger in, be called home, be like the the One, be no more, be with Jesus
Synonyms of be gathered to one's fathers
- be gathered to one's people
- be laid unto one's fathers
- be put to one's fathers
- assume room temperature
- auger in
- be called home
- be like the the One
- be no more
- be with Jesus
- be with the Lord
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
- bite the big one
- bite the biscuit
- bite the dust
- buy the farm
- buy it
- cark it
- cash in
- cash in one's chips
- check out
- close one's eyes for the last time
- code
- conk out
- croak
- cross over
- cross the Great Divide
- cross the Styx
- darken
- decease
- decompose
- dematerialize
- depart
- disincarnate
- draw one's last breath
- drop off the hooks
- exit
- expire
- fall off the twig
- flatline
- give one's all
- give up the ghost
Forms of be gathered to one's fathers
| third-person singular present | is gathered to one's fathers |
|---|---|
| present participle | being gathered to one's fathers |
| past | was gathered to one's fathers |
| past participle | been gathered to one's fathers |
Origin of be gathered to one's fathers
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).
Questions about be gathered to one's fathers
- What does be gathered to one's fathers mean?
- Be gathered to one's fathers means to be buried together with one's forebears; hence, to die.
- What part of speech is be gathered to one's fathers?
- Be gathered to one's fathers is a verb.
- How do you pronounce be gathered to one's fathers?
- Be gathered to one's fathers is pronounced /biː ˈɡæðəd tuː wʌnz ˈfɑːðəz/ (UK).
- What is the past tense of be gathered to one's fathers?
- The past tense of be gathered to one's fathers is was gathered to one's fathers.
Words near be gathered to one's fathers in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: be gathered to one's fathers (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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