comprehensibilis

Forms

comprehēnsibilis (neuter comprehēnsibile); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1] Cicero's text of the Academica has the form comprehendibilis.^[2] It is also spelled conprehensibilis.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin comprehendō + -bilis, from the verb meaning “to seize, grasp; to perceive”.^[2][1][4] Lewis and Short think Cicero probably first used it,^[3] rendering the Greek philosophical term καταληπτός (katalēptós).^[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first author to use it is Cicero (81–43 BC), in the Academica, where it renders Greek katalēptós, “graspable by the mind”.^[2][3][5][6]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin the word stayed rare.^[3] Celsus used it of what the intellect can grasp,^[5][7] and Seneca of tiny openings that the eyes can hardly perceive.^[3][5] Lactantius applied it to a solid body that can be laid hold of,^[3][5] and Tertullian used the neuter as a noun, opposed to incomprehensibile.^[3][5] The adverb comprehensibiliter appears in Cassiodorus and Gregory the Great.^[8]

In Medieval Latin it meant also “limited in place”, which Bede uses of what God is not,^[9] “able to be taken by force”, of a castle,^[10] and, in learned use, “compressible”.^[10] English borrowed it in the 1520s as comprehensible, first in the sense “able to be contained”.^[11]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it in the Academica for what the mind can grasp.^[2][3][6]
• 14–37 AD – Celsus has it of what is graspable by the intellect.^[5][7][6]
• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca speaks of openings scarcely perceptible to the eyes.^[3][5][6]
• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses the neuter as a noun.^[3][5][6]
• c. 250–317 AD – Lactantius calls a solid body one that can be laid hold of.^[3][5][6]
• 1520s – Borrowed into English as comprehensible.^[11]

Meanings

Adjective

1. That can be grasped or laid hold of; tangible.^[3][12]
2. Perceptible to the senses.^[2][3][12]
3. Graspable by the mind; intelligible, conceivable.^[2][3][12]
4. (substantive, neuter) That which can be grasped, opposed to incomprehensibile.^[3][5]
5. (Medieval Latin) limited, circumscribed (in place).^[9][10]
6. (Medieval Latin) That can be taken by force; pregnable.^[10]

Word family

• incomprehēnsibilis

Related words

• comprehendō
• comprehēnsiō
• comprehēnsīvus
• comprehēnsō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
6. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
9. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c d Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
12. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.