Link Centre Dictionary

apprehend

app·re·hend

UK/ˌɛpɹəˈhend/ US/ˌæpɹɪˈhɛnd/ uncommon archaic obsolete

verb

1.

get the meaning of something

  • “Do you comprehend the meaning of this letter?”
Synonyms
2.

abstain from certain foods, as for religious or medical reasons

  • “Catholics sometimes fast during Lent”
Synonyms
3.

anticipate with dread or anxiety

Synonyms

Origin

From Late Middle English apprehenden (“to grasp, take hold of; to comprehend; to learn”), from Old French apprehender (modern French appréhender (“to apprehend; to catch; to dread”)), from Latin apprehendere, adprehendere, the present active infinitive of apprehendō, adprehendō (“to grab, grasp, seize, take; to apprehend, arrest; to comprehend, understand; to embrace, include; to take possession of, obtain, secure”), from ap-, ad- (prefix meaning ‘to’) + prehendō (“to grab, grasp, seize, snatch, take; to accost; to catch in the act, take by surprise; (figuratively, rare) of the mind: to apprehend, comprehend, grasp”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- (“to hold, seize, take; to find”)).

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.