Definition of piece together

The English language is rich with phrases and idioms that have fascinating origins. One such phrase is "piece together." This expression, meaning to reconstruct or form an understanding by connecting separate parts, can be traced back to the mid-16th century. During this time, there was a thriving industry centered around the production and sale of wooden puzzle boxes known as "dissected maps," with intricate designs created by a celebrity cartographer named Henry Briggs. These maps, made up of small interlocking pieces, challenged the recipient to "piece together" the geographic location being depicted. It is thought that the expression "piece together" emerged as a direct result of this popular pastime. As more complex designs were created, the term came to represent the process of reassembling things back to their original configuration. Over time, this meaning evolved, extending beyond maps to refer to the act of gathering and reconciling disparate elements to reconstruct a bigger picture in many different fields, from medical diagnosis to detective work to assembling a jigsaw puzzle. Today, "piece together" is a universally known and widely used phrase, an excellent example of how language is shaped by popular culture and everyday experience.