apprehend

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*gʰed-“to hold, seize, take; to find”
2. Latin · derived fromapprehendere
3. Old French · derived fromapprehender
4. Middle English · inherited fromapprehenden“to grasp, take hold of; to comprehend; to learn”
5. English todayapprehend

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”)).

Words from the same roots