Both Uses of
muster
in
The Souls of Black Folk
- It extended the existence of the Bureau to July, 1868; it authorized additional assistant commissioners, the retention of army officers mustered out of regular service, the sale of certain forfeited lands to freedmen on nominal terms, the sale of Confederate public property for Negro schools, and a wider field of judicial interpretation and cognizance.†
Chpt 2mustered = gathered
- It gets pretty hot in Southern Georgia in July,—a sort of dull, determined heat that seems quite independent of the sun; so it took us some days to muster courage enough to leave the porch and venture out on the long country roads, that we might see this unknown world.†
Chpt 7 *muster = gather
Definitions:
-
(1)
(muster as in: muster strength or the crew) to gatherThe exact meaning of this sense of muster is often subject to its context. For example:
- "mustered her courage/strength/a smile" -- to gather from within
- "muster the soldiers/crew" -- to gather -- typically for inspection
- "muster volunteers/votes" -- to gather enough to do something
-
(2)
(muster as in: didn't pass muster) inspection -- especially of soldiers or a crew
-
(3)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
More rarely, muster can refer to a counting or census. Much more rarely, muster can refer to a call to duty such as compulsory military service or jury duty. In that sense, you may see the expression muster in or muster out. Still more rarely, a muster can refer to a group of peacocks.