apprehend

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to get the meaning of something

   I apprehended the lecture quite easily.

2. 2
   verb

   to take into custody

   The police apprehended the suspect without incident.

3. 3
   verb

   to anticipate with dread or anxiety

   You always apprehend the first day of school.

4. 4
   verb

   To be or become aware of (something); to perceive.

   […] Angel ſignifieth there, nothing but God himſelf, that cauſed Agar ſupernaturally to apprehend a voice from heaven; or rather, nothing elſe but a Voice ſupernaturall, teſtifying Gods ſpeciall preſence there.

5. 5
   verb

   To acknowledge the existence of (something); to recognize.

   [E]ach man for his own sake / Accepts you as his guide, avails him of what worth / He apprehends in you to sublimate his earth / With fire: […]

6. 6
   verb

   To take hold of (something) with understanding; to conceive (something) in the mind; to become cognizant of; to understand.

   If to apprehend Chriſte be vnderſtanded, to dvvell in Chriſte, and to haue him dvvell in vs, it is not true that Chriſte is apprehended in that ſorte, by onely faith vvithout charitie. […] He apprehendeth Chriſte truely, that cleaueth vnto Chriſt, and the glue vvhereby the ſovvle is fastned vnto Chriſte, ſaith S. Auguſtine, is charitie: […]

7. 7
   verb

   To have a conception of (something); to consider, to regard.

   Tim[on]. That's a laſciuious apprehenſion. / Ape[mantus]. So, thou apprehend'ſt it, / Take it for thy labour.

8. 8
   verb

   To anticipate (something, usually unpleasant); especially, to anticipate (something) with anxiety, dread, or fear; to dread, to fear.

   O let my Lady apprehend no feare, / In all Cupids pageant there is preſented no monſter.

Etymology

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 appreh…