Ap`pre*hend" (ăp`pr&esl;*h&ebreve;nd"), v.
t. [imp. & p. p. Apprehended; p.
pr. & vb. n. Apprehending.] [L. apprehendere;
ad + prehendere to lay hold of, seize; prae before +
-hendere (used only in comp.); akin to Gr. chanda`nein to
hold, contain, and E. get: cf. F. appréhender. See
Prehensile, Get.] 1. To take or seize;
to take hold of. [Archaic]
We have two hands to apprehend it.
Jer. Taylor.
2. Hence: To take or seize (a person) by legal
process; to arrest; as, to apprehend a criminal.
3. To take hold of with the understanding, that is,
to conceive in the mind; to become cognizant of; to understand; to
recognize; to consider.
This suspicion of Earl Reimund, though at first but a buzz,
soon got a sting in the king's head, and he violently apprehended
it.
Fuller.
The eternal laws, such as the heroic age apprehended
them.
Gladstone.
4. To know or learn with certainty.
[Obs.]
G. You are too much distrustful of my truth.
E. Then you must give me leave to apprehend
The means and manner how.
Beau. & Fl.
5. To anticipate; esp., to anticipate with anxiety,
dread, or fear; to fear.
The opposition had more reason than the king to
apprehend violence.
Macaulay.
Syn. -- To catch; seize; arrest; detain; capture; conceive;
understand; imagine; believe; fear; dread. -- To Apprehend,
Comprehend. These words come into comparison as describing acts of
the mind. Apprehend denotes the laying hold of a thing
mentally, so as to understand it clearly, at least in part.
Comprehend denotes the embracing or understanding it in all its
compass and extent. We may apprehended many truths which we do not
comprehend. The very idea of God supposes that he may be
apprehended, though not comprehended, by rational beings. "We
may apprehended much of Shakespeare's aim and intention in the
character of Hamlet or King Lear; but few will claim that they have
comprehended all that is embraced in these characters."
Trench.
Ap`pre*hend", v. i. 1.
To think, believe, or be of opinion; to understand; to
suppose.
2. To be apprehensive; to fear.
It is worse to apprehend than to suffer.
Rowe.
