apprehendo
Pronunciation
Forms
apprehendō (present infinitive apprehendere, perfect active apprehendī, supine apprehēnsum); third conjugation[1] It is also spelled adprehendō and contracted apprendō, as in Plautus and Caecilius.[2]
Etymology
It is from ad- and prehendō “to seize”.[2][1][3]
Earliest recorded meaning
The contracted form appears in Plautus and Caecilius.[2] The OLD's earliest citations for the senses are from Cicero, and Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[2][4]
Semantic evolution
It meant to lay hold of, grasp, seize, and to gain possession, and to take up a subject for discussion, as in Cicero.[2] In law it meant to include in a provision.[2]
In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to take hold of, seize, apprehend, embrace.[5] Its contracted form survives as French apprendre, Spanish and Portuguese aprender “to learn”, and French appris gave English apprise, and the Latin gave English apprehend in the late 14th century, first “to grasp with the senses or mind”.[1][3]
Timeline
- c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses the contracted form.[2][4]
- 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of seizing and taking up.[2][4]
- late 14th century – English apprehend is recorded.[3]
Meanings
Verb
- To grasp, seize.[2]
- To gain possession of.[2]
- To take up (a subject).[2]
- To include.[2]
- (Ecclesiastical Latin) To apprehend; to embrace.[5]
Word family
- apprehensibilis
- apprehēnsiō
- apprēnsō
Related words
- comprehendō
- dēprehendō
- prehendō
- reprehendō
- English apprehend
- English apprise
References
- ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson