prehension
Americannoun
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the act of seizing or grasping.
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mental apprehension.
noun
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the act of grasping
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apprehension by the senses or the mind
Etymology
Origin of prehension
1525–35; < Latin prehēnsiōn- (stem of prehēnsiō ) a taking hold, equivalent to prehēns ( us ) (past participle of prehendere to seize, equivalent to pre- pre- + -hendere to grasp; akin to get ) + -iōn- -ion
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Very often one or other of the appendages may be modified for prehension, the seizing of prey or the holding of a mate.
From Project Gutenberg
It is covered with numerous large papillae, and forms, like the trunk of the elephant, an admirable organ for the examination and prehension of food.
From Project Gutenberg
The number of metacarpals and digits diminishes in proportion as the limbs cease to be organs of prehension, and become more exclusively organs of support and locomotion.
From Project Gutenberg
The trunk is of great strength and sensibility, and serves alike for respiration, smell, taste, suction, touch, and prehension.
From Project Gutenberg
It seems to me far from true that because “objects are grasped clumsily” by monkeys, “a much less specialised organ of prehension” would have served them201 as well as their present hands.
From Project Gutenberg
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
