Etymograph

English

comprise

Comprise comes from Latin comprehendō ‘to lay hold of something on all sides’, from prehendō ‘catch, grasp’, 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‘catch, grasp’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomprehendō3as comprehendere‘to lay hold of something on all sides’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400compris3
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500comprisen3
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1914comprise3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin prehendo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin comprehendo
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English comprise
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1914, Louis Joseph Vance, An Outsider […]: “Three chairs of the steamer type, all maimed, comprised…”.

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 comprehendo‘catch, grasp’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomprehendōWiktionary, English compriseas comprehendere‘to lay hold of something on all sides’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400comprisWiktionary, English comprise
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500comprisenWiktionary, English comprise
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1914compriseWiktionary, English comprise. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1914, Louis Joseph Vance, An Outsider […]: “Three chairs of the steamer type, all maimed, comprised…”

Linked words

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

yet, guess, prey, predator, apprehend, predation, reprieve, beget, impregnable, prehensile, 33 more

through Proto-Italic *praiɣendō

prisoner, imprison, impresario, 15 more

through Latin prehendō ‘catch, grasp’

prison, prize, surprise, apprentice, apprehension, apprehensive, reprehensible, 17 more

Today it means

verb To be made up of; to consist of (especially a comprehensive list of parts).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “comprise”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin prehendo, Latin comprehendo. 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- / comprise

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