Rehensive
/rɪˈhɛn.sɪv/noun
Apprehensive or fearful; an obsolete and rare adjective.
Did you know?Rehensive is an archaic relative of the much larger “seize” word-family behind apprehend, comprehend, and reprehend—linking fear with the mind’s attempt to grasp what is happening.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gʰed-
“To seize or grasp; the reconstructed ancestral root behind later Latin words for taking hold.”
Classical Latin
Latin
prehendere
“To seize, grasp, or catch; the source of English words involving mental or physical “grasping.””
Late Latin
Latin
prehensus
“Seized, grasped, or apprehended—the participial form that helped generate later adjective formations.”
Middle English
English
apprehenden
“To seize, understand, or fear; the source of the familiar word apprehend and its emotional sense.”
17th Century
English
rehensive
“Apprehensive or fearful; a rare form recorded in historical English dictionaries.”
Modern English
English
rehensive
“Obsolete or very rare: uneasy, fearful, or apprehensive.”
Explore more surprising origins