Meanings
present singular third person prehends · participle present prehending · participle past prehended · past prehended
- transitivehuman sciencesTo perceive in the manner of Alfred North Whitehead's concept of prehension.
Each of the four levels "prehends" the other, and so in the punning of words so frequent in hieroglyphic writing, we encounter a richer and more inclusive mode of thought than we are accustomed to.
1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 214 - obsoletetransitiveTo lay hold of; to seize.
c. 1615-1617, Thomas Middleton, The Widow Here they be all three now ; prehend 'em , officers
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinprehendere
- Englishprehend
From Latin prehendere. See prehensile.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
prehend. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prehend
“prehend.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prehend. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “prehend,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prehend.
Source: prehend on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.