Prehend

//pɹɪˈhɛnd// verb

verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To 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."

  2. 2
    take into your hands deliberately wordnet
  3. 3
    To lay hold of; to seize. obsolete

    "c. 1615-1617, Thomas Middleton, The Widow Here they be all three now ; prehend 'em , officers"

Synonyms

All synonyms
appreciateapprehendbagcapturecatchclutch

Example

More examples

"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."

Etymology

From Latin prehendere. See prehensile.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.