
After rather more than 1100 years, it’s very hard to be sure exactly what was in people’s minds. It seems to have originated in one of these subsidiary senses which is now lost to us. Understand has had our modern sense right from the time it was first recorded, in the ninth century. Citation from Scared Stiff (book), Annelise Ryan, 2010 censored in hope of resolving Google's penalty against this site. Submitted by Walter Rader (Editor) from Sacramento, CA, USA on. Another came along rather later, in the Middle English period, and has survived: undertake. See more words with the same meaning: to know, be aware.

An example is undersecan, to investigate, from secan, to seek. These appeared in a number of Old English verbs that have now vanished from the language. Speaks to someones ability to understand information. There were several other figurative senses of under-, too, whose meanings are hard to sort out. Search mind and thousands of other words in English definition and synonym. One was very much like the Latin prefix sub-, such as something lower or subordinate in type (as in understudy or undersecretary), or something of lesser degree (as in underdeveloped or underweight).

Very early in its history, though, it already had several subsidiary figurative senses. The most common sense of the prefix under- in Old English was just the same as our modern word under - of being below or beneath something (as in underground).

high-utility academic words and phrases are different from other kinds of. assimilate comprehend digest appreciate recognize worth. How did a compound of under and stand come to mean ‘comprehend’? To better understand the meaning of the word context, lets look at the. Synonyms for better understanding include awareness, insight, discernment, recognition, understanding, appreciation, apprehension, comprehension, grasp and. WORDS RELATED TO UNDERSTAND absorb mentally take in information. Q From Sue Mauer and Charles Colenaty: Please explain the etymology of the word understand.
