Reprehend
/ˌrɛprɪˈhɛnd/noun
To criticize or express disapproval of someone or something.
Did you know?Reprehend comes from Latin reprehendere, built from re- + prehendere (“to seize”), so its oldest sense was to catch or hold someone back before it became a word for blame.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ghend-
“to seize, take hold of”
Latin
Latin
prehendere
“to seize, grasp, catch”
Latin
Latin
reprehendere
“to seize back; to check, restrain; to blame”
Old French
Old French
reprehender
“to blame, censure”
Middle English
English
reprehenden
“to criticize or condemn”
Modern English
English
reprehend
“to criticize or express disapproval of”
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