Etymograph

English

apprehension

Apprehension comes from Latin apprehensio ‘seizing or laying hold of’, from apprehendō ‘to seize’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- ‘to find’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰed-1‘to find’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰnédti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hendō1‘to hold’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*praiɣendō1reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprehendō2‘to seize’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEapprehendō3‘to seize’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEapprehensio4as apprehensio‘seizing or laying hold of’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1815apprehension4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin prehendo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin apprehendo
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin apprehensio
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English apprehension
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1815, Percy Bysshe Shelley, On Life,: “We live on, and in living we lose the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰed-Wiktionary, Latin prehendo‘to find’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰnédtiWiktionary, Latin prehendoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hendōWiktionary, Latin prehendo‘to hold’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*praiɣendōWiktionary, Latin prehendoreconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprehendōWiktionary, Latin apprehendo‘to seize’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEapprehendōWiktionary, Latin apprehensio‘to seize’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEapprehensioWiktionary, English apprehensionas apprehensio‘seizing or laying hold of’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1815apprehensionWiktionary, English apprehension. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1815, Percy Bysshe Shelley, On Life,: “We live on, and in living we lose the…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- ‘to find’

yet, guess, prey, predator, reprieve, impregnable, predation, beget, prehensile, 32 more

through Proto-Italic *praiɣendō

prisoner, imprison, impresario, 13 more

through Latin prehendō ‘to seize’

surprise, prison, prize, comprehensive, comprise, comprehend, comprehension, reprehensible, 15 more

through Latin apprehendō ‘to seize’

apprentice, 2 more

Today it means

noun The physical act of seizing or taking hold of (something); seizing.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “apprehension”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin prehendo, Latin apprehendo, Latin apprehensio. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- / apprehension

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