Words of Today

Today’s fortune cookie reads: Mend your heart before your momentary escape.

The Word of the Day for November 17, 2008 is:
prehension • \pree-HEN-shun\  • noun

*1 : the act of taking hold, seizing, or grasping

2 : mental understanding : comprehension

3 : apprehension by the senses

Example Sentence:
The new surgery claims to offer an increase in hand prehension and successful use of the hand after a nerve transplant.
Did you know?
It’s easy to grasp the origins of “prehension” — it descends from the Latin verb “prehendere,” which means “to seize” or “to grasp.” Other descendants of “prehendere” in English include “apprehend,” “comprehend” (“to grasp the nature or significance of”), “prehensile” (“adapted for seizing or grasping”), “prison,” “reprise,” and “reprisal.” Even the English word “get” comes to us from the same ancient root that led to the Latin “prehendere.” 

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Related Posts:

• No Related Posts