Prehension
/prɪˈhɛn.ʃən/noun
The act of grasping or seizing; in biology, the ability to take hold of something.
Did you know?Its Latin root, prehendere, meant “to seize” or “to take hold of,” which is why words like apprehend and comprehend still carry the old idea of mentally or physically grasping something.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gʷʰedʰ-
“to seize, take, or grasp”
Latin
Latin
prehendere
“to seize, catch, or take hold of”
Late Latin
Latin
prehensio
“a seizing or grasping”
Middle English
English
prehension
“the act of seizing or grasping”
Modern English
English
prehension
“the act or capacity of grasping or taking hold of something”
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