greg-, -gregate, -gregation

(Latin: flock; assemble; gather; come together, get together)

aggregate (AG gruh git) (adjective) (not comparable)
A reference to something that is formed by adding two or more amounts: The football team with the greatest aggregate score was the winner of the regional championship.

The museum received more than half of its aggregate financial support from local government sources.

aggregate (s) (ag gruh GIT) (noun), aggregates (ag gruh GITS) (pl)
1. Collected together from different sources and considered as complete: The aggregate of talented musicians resulted in a very entertaining evening on TV.
2. Etymology: from Latin aggregat-, "herded together"; from the verb aggregare, "to group together"; from ad, "toward" + grex, "flock".
A sum or a total quantity.
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aggregate (ag ri GAYTE) (verb), aggregates; aggregated; aggregating
1. To join or to combine into a single group: This lexicon aggregates words into family units for a greater comprehension of vocabulary.
2. To equal a particular amount or number: All together, more than 3,600 units consisting of almost 80,000 word entries have been aggregated into this wordinfo.info web site.
aggregation (s) (noun), aggregations (pl)
1. Several things formed together or considered as a whole: There was an aggregation of movie fans gathered outside the theatre hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite stars.
2. A collection or a mass of distinct or varied things, people, etc.: The aggregates of stones under the water in the bed of the stream shimmered with many colors when the sun shined on it.
3. In biology, a number of organisms of the same, or different species, living closely together but less integrated than a society: In the tide pools by the ocean, the students from the local academy counted the various aggregates of different underwater sea creatures.
congregant (s) (noun), congregants (pl)
Someone who is part of an association attending religious services or anyone who regularly participates with others in church activities: The church had congregants all of whom were loyal to their church and pastor because they were convinced that God was blessing them in so many ways.
congregate (verb), congregates; congregated; congregating
1. To come together in a mass, or to gather people or animals into a unit, crowd, or assembly: When people congregate, some of them flock together under the care of a pastor of a church.
2. To collect or to separate people or things into an assemblage or to get together: Slowly the crowd started to congregate in the park for the afternoon concert.
3. To bring into one place, or into a throng or united body; such as, people or animals: The sheep were congregated in the pen, waiting to be let out into the pasture.
congregating (adjective) (not comparable)
Relating to or a reference to a convergence or a gathering: The congregating protestors demonstrated against having new taxes imposed on their food products.
congregation (s) (noun), congregations (pl)
Flocking together; as, in a church: The congregation of the community was very thankful to God that the tornado did not harm their church.
congregational, Congregational (adjective) (not comparable)
1. Relating to, or referring to, a get-together or gathering of people, animals, or things: An excessive congregational flock of birds were harming the wheat fields of the local farmers.
2. Pertaining to, or adhering to, a form of Protestant church government in which each local church acts as an independent, self-governing body; while maintaining fellowship with related religious believers: Thousands of members of Congregational churches were convening for special worship services.
congregationalism, Congregationalism (s) (noun) (no plural)
The system of government and religious beliefs of a Protestant denomination in which each member church is self-governing: Mary's uncle, a church elder, enjoyed the independence that Congregationalism gave to their small church.
Congregationalist (s) (noun), Congregationalists (pl)
A member of the Protestant denomination which has origins in the "Nonconformists" of England: The Congregationalists consider the individual congregation the basic unit of their church and they practice baptism of infants.

"Most Congregationalists in the United States belong to the United Church of Christ."

—From The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy
by E.D. Hirsch, Jr.; Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil;
Houghton Mifflin Company; Boston; 1988; page 88.
congregationally (adverb), more congregationally, most congregationally
1. Pertaining to a confluence of people, typically for or with a common purpose: Despite the large size, the singers and performers assembled for a congregationally lively concert.
2. Pertaining to, or adhering to, a form of Protestant church government in which each local church acts as an independent, self-governing body, while maintaining fellowship with similar religious groups: There was an annual membership of similarly congregationally oriented church members which was held in the small riverside city.
congregator (s) (noun), congregators (pl)
Someone who brings a group, a multitude, or an assembly together: Dr. Farmer was an expert congregator who was able to draw large numbers of worshipers to listen to his sermons.
desegregate (verb), desegregates; desegregated; desegregating
1. To put an end to a customary, or enforced, separation of ethnic or racial groups based on gender in a place or institution; for example, in a workplace or a school: The members of the union of school janitors voted to desegregate their union and to welcome women as equal members.
2. To admit affiliates of all races or ethnic groups equally; especially, by force of law: The Civil Rights movement in the United States made significant gains when it was able to desegregate many schools, lunch counters, etc.
desegregation (noun), desegregations (pl)
1. The action of incorporating a racial or religious body of people into a community: The members of the local church were proud to have been the first to incorporate policies of desegregation into their bylaws.
2. The elimination of laws, customs, or practices under which different races, assemblages, etc., are restricted to specific or separate public facilities, neighborhoods, schools, organizations, or similar groups and places: The desegregation of the local schools, accomplished by the use of military forces, caused huge negative reactions in the neighborhood.

Related "together" units: com-; inter-; struct-.