Dic: gather (find something in an indirect way)

• I gather his report is highly critical of the trial judge.
• ‘He speaks English,’ she said to Graham. ‘I gathered that.’
• From what I could gather, he was trying to raise money by organising festivals.

VERB | You use gather in expressions such as ‘I gather’ and ‘as far as I can gather’ to introduce information that you have found out, especially when you have found it out in an indirect way.

.... Cobuild