Etymology

prehensile

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Today it means: Able to take hold of and clasp objects; adapted for grasping especially by wrapping around an object. Full definition →

French préhensile ← Latin -ilis
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The story

  1. Latin · derived from-ilis
  2. French · borrowed frompréhensile
  3. English todayprehensile

Borrowed from French préhensile, from Latin perfect passive participle prehēnsus, from prehendō (“grasp, seize”) + adjective suffix -ile, from Latin -ilis.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.