construe

Etymology

From Middle English construen, from Late Latin construo, construere (“to relate grammatically”), from Latin construo (“pile together”); doublet of construct.

noun

1. A translation.
2. An interpretation.

verb

1. (transitive) To interpret or explain the meaning of something.
   The world must construe according to its wits; this court must construe according to the law. 1954, Robert Bolt, A Man for All Seasons
2. (grammar, transitive) To analyze the grammatical structure of a clause or sentence; to parse.
   Thus, in a sentence such as: (113) John considers [_S Fred to be too sure of himself] the italicised Reflexive himself can only be construed with Fred, not with John: this follows from our assumption that non-subject Reflexives must have an antecedent within their own S. Notice, however, that in a sentence such as: (114) John seems to me [_S — to have perjured himself] himself must be construed with John. 1988, Andrew Radford, chapter 8, in Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 436
3. (grammar, ergative) To admit of grammatical analysis.
4. (transitive) To translate.
5. To infer.