The word 采集 is formed by combining two independent characters, each contributing a core action to create a unified concept. 采 (cǎi) depicts a hand plucking fruit from a tree, conveying the meaning "to pick" or "to gather". 集 (jí) shows birds resting on a tree, evolving to mean "to assemble" or "to collect". When joined, they describe a coherent, two-stage process: first the act of gathering individual items from a source (采), followed by the act of bringing them together into a collected whole (集), resulting in the comprehensive meaning "to collect and gather".