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word of the day

The word for today is…

prehensile (adj) – 1. Able to seize, grasp, or hold, especially by wrapping around an object.

  1. Having a keen intellect or powerful memory.

Source : The Free Dictionary

Etymology : You may be familiar with prehensile from the animal world: monkeys have prehensile tails, elephants have prehensile trunks, giraffes have prehensile tongues, etc. But can you comprehend where this word comes from? Can you apprehend its derivation? The Latin verb prehendere, meaning “to seize or grasp,” is the ancestor of a number of English terms, including comprehend, apprehend, and prehensile. Prehensile came into English in the 18th century via French préhensile, from Latin prehensus, the past participle of prehendere.

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