prehensile

[ pri-hen-sil, -sahyl ]

adjective

1. adapted for seizing, grasping, or taking hold of something:

   a prehensile tail.

2. able to perceive quickly; having keen mental grasp.
3. greedy; grasping; avaricious.

prehensile

/ ˌpriːhɛnˈsɪlɪtɪ; prɪˈhɛnsaɪl /

adjective

1. adapted for grasping, esp by wrapping around a support

   a prehensile tail

prehensile

/ prē-hĕn′səl /

1. Adapted for seizing, grasping, or holding, especially by wrapping around an object. The feet of many birds, the tails of monkeys, and the trunks of elephants are prehensile.

Derived Forms

• prehensility, noun

Other Words From

• pre·hen·sil·i·ty [pree-hen-, sil, -i-tee], noun
• nonpre·hensile adjective
• subpre·hensile adjective
• subpre·hen·sili·ty noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of prehensile¹

1781–85; < French préhensile (coined by Buffon), equivalent to Latin prehens ( us ) ( prehension ) + French -ile -ile

Word History and Origins

Origin of prehensile¹

C18: from French préhensile, from Latin prehendere to grasp

Example Sentences

When given just a few cubes, the elephant picked them up with the prehensile tip of her trunk.

From Science News For Students

When offered just a few cubes, the elephant picked them up with the prehensile tip of the trunk.

From Science News

The coaita has neither pouches on the sides of his jaws, nor callosities on the posteriors: he has a very long prehensile tail.

From Project Gutenberg

Their tail is prehensile, naked underneath at the extremity, and very bushy over every other part.

From Project Gutenberg

His tail is not prehensile but flaccid, and half as long again as his head and body.

From Project Gutenberg

They grasped things with the strong prehensile grasp of the infant, rather than with the clutch of the miser.

From Project Gutenberg

The tall giraffe, with his prehensile lip, raised nearly twenty feet in the air, can browse upon these trees without difficulty.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• eager
• hungry
• impatient
• rapacious
• selfish