from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Comprehend \Com`pre*hend"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Comprehended};
p. pr. & vb. n. {Comprehending}.] [L. comprehendere,
comprehensum; com- + prehendere to grasp, seize; prae before
+ hendere (used only in comp.). See {Get}, and cf.
{Comprise}.]
1. To contain; to embrace; to include; as, the states
comprehended in the Austrian Empire.
[1913 Webster]
Who hath . . . comprehended the dust of the earth in
a measure. --Is. xl. 12.
[1913 Webster]
2. To take in or include by construction or implication; to
comprise; to imply.
[1913 Webster]
Comprehended all in this one word, Discretion.
--Hobbes.
[1913 Webster]
And if there be any other commandment, it is briefly
comprehended in this saying. --Rom. xiii.
9.
[1913 Webster]
3. To take into the mind; to grasp with the understanding; to
apprehend the meaning of; to understand.
[1913 Webster]
At a loss to comprehend the question. --W. Irwing.
[1913 Webster]
Great things doeth he, which we can not comprehend.
--Job. xxxvii.
5.
Syn: To contain; include; embrace; comprise; inclose; grasp;
embody; involve; imply; apprehend; imagine; conceive;
understand. See {Apprehend}.
[1913 Webster]