apprehend

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To catch and arrest someone, especially a criminal.

   Police apprehended the thief just two blocks from the bank.

2. 2
   verb

   To understand or grasp the meaning of something.

   It took her a moment to fully apprehend the seriousness of the news.

3. 3
   verb

   To worry about or dread something that might happen.

   He apprehended trouble the moment he saw the police car outside.

Simplified etymology

Apprehend, recorded in late Middle English, comes from Latin prehendere, meaning “to seize.”

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…

Topics

External links

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