prehension noun. [prɪ'hɛnʃ(ǝ)n] M16.
[Latin prehensio(n-) seizing, from Latin prehens-: see PREHENSILE, -ION.]
1. Seizure or arrest in the name of the law; physical apprehension. M16-E19.

2. Chiefly Zoology. The action of physically grasping or holding something. E19.
Nature Long fore-limbs with short digits adapted for running and not prehension.

3. The action of grasping with the mind; mental apprehension. M19.
Blackwood's Magazine Mr. Churchill's instinctive prehension of her claims to fashionable distinction.
b. Philosophy. Perception of and response to an object or event, irrespective of cognition. E20.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲