apprehend

Etymology

From Late Middle English apprehenden (“to grasp, take hold of; to comprehend; to learn”), from Old French apprehender (modern French appréhender (“to apprehend; to catch; to dread”)), from Latin apprehendere, adprehendere, the present active infinitive of apprehendō, adprehendō (“to grab, grasp, seize, take; to apprehend, arrest; to comprehend, understand; to embrace, include; to take possession of, obtain, secure”), from ap-, ad- (prefix meaning ‘to’) + prehendō (“to grab, grasp, seize, snatch, take; to accost; to catch in the act, take by surprise; (figuratively, rare) of the mind: to apprehend, comprehend, grasp”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- (“to hold, seize, take; to find”)).

verb

1. (transitive)
   1. To be or become aware of (something); to perceive.
      From thy composure on the occasion it was evident, that thou expectedst to reap the fruit of thine iniquity in peace; and that, when thou repliedst, "All is well," thou apprehendedst no evil. But didst thou forget that God saw thee? 1832, Charles Simeon, “2 Kings.] The Hypocrisy of Gehazi.”, in Horæ Homilecticæ: Or Discourses (Principally in the Form of Skeletons) Now First Digested into One Continued Series, and Forming a Commentary upon Every Book of the Old and New Testament;[…], volume III (Judges to Second Book of Kings), London: Holdsworth and Ball,[…], →OCLC, page 500
   2. To acknowledge the existence of (something); to recognize.
   3. To take hold of (something) with understanding; to conceive (something) in the mind; to become cognizant of; to understand.
      If to apprehend Chriſte be vnderſtanded, to dvvell in Chriſte, and to haue him dvvell in vs, it is not true that Chriſte is apprehended in that ſorte, by onely faith vvithout charitie. […] He apprehendeth Chriſte truely, that cleaueth vnto Chriſt, and the glue vvhereby the ſovvle is fastned vnto Chriſte, ſaith S. Auguſtine, is charitie: […] 1569, [Reginald] Pole, chapter IIII, in Thomas Copley?], transl., A Treatie of Iustification.[…], Leuven: […] Ioannem Foulerum, →OCLC, 2nd book (Declaring the Second Danger), folio 41
      [Thomas] Jefferson apprehended the injustice of slavery; but one is inclined to ask how deeply he felt it. 1922, Carl Becker, “The Literary Qualities of the Declaration”, in The Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Company, →OCLC, page 221
   4. To have a conception of (something); to consider, to regard.
   5. To anticipate (something, usually unpleasant); especially, to anticipate (something) with anxiety, dread">dread, or fear">fear; to dread">dread, to fear">fear.
   6. (archaic or obsolete, also figurative) To seize or take (something); to take hold of.
   7. (law enforcement) To seize or take (a person) by legal process; to arrest.
      Officers apprehended the suspect two streets away from the bank.
   8. (obsolete)
      1. To feel (something) emotionally.
      2. To learn (something).
      3. (also figurative) To take possession of (something); to seize.
         Thou Jesus] followedst this poor slave Onesimus] to Rome. Thou broughtest him under the ministry of thy servant Paul. Thou apprehendedst him by thy grace, and hadst greater joy in his conversion, than Paul had. 1810, John Gillies, “the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to Philemon”, in The New Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; with Devotional Reflections,[…], new edition, volume II, London: […] Richard Edwards,[…], →OCLC, section I, page 397
2. (intransitive)
   1. To be of opinion, believe, or think; to suppose.
   2. To understand.
   3. To be apprehensive; to fear.
      Death never happens but once, yet we feel it every moment of our lives. It is worse to apprehend than to suffer. c. 1700, Jean de La Bruyère, “No. CLXXXVI”, in Nicholas Rowe, transl., edited by John Timbs], Laconics; or, The Best Words of the Best Authors.[…], volume I, Philadelphia, Pa.: [Mathew] Carey, [Isaac] Lea & [Henry Charles] Carey[…], published 1829, →OCLC, page 38