understand

understand
understand (v.) O.E. understandan "comprehend, grasp the idea of," probably lit. "stand in the midst of," from under + standan "to stand" (see STAND (Cf. stand)). If this is the meaning, the under is not the usual word meaning "beneath," but from O.E. under, from PIE *nter- "between, among" (Cf. Skt. antar "among, between," L. inter "between, among," Gk. entera "intestines;" see INTER- (Cf. inter-)).
That is the suggestion in Barnhart, but other sources regard the "among, between, before, in the presence of" sense of Old English prefix and preposition under as other meanings of the same word. "Among" seems to be the sense in many Old English compounds that resemble understand, e.g. underniman "to receive," undersecan "to investigate," underginnan "to begin." It also seems to be the sense still in expressions such as under such circumstances.
Perhaps the ultimate sense is "be close to," Cf. Gk. epistamai "I know how, I know," lit. "I stand upon." Similar formations are found in O.Fris. (understonda), M.Dan. (understande), while other Germanic languages use compounds meaning "stand before" (Cf. Ger. verstehen, represented in Old English by forstanden). For this concept, most Indo-European languages use figurative extensions of compounds that lit. mean "put together," or "separate," or "take, grasp" (see COMPREHEND (Cf. comprehend)). O.E. oferstandan, M.E. overstonden, lit. "over-stand" seem to have been used only in literal senses.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • understand — understand, comprehend, appreciate mean to have a clear idea or conception or full and exact knowledge of something. Understand and comprehend both imply an obtaining of a mental grasp of something and in much of their use are freely… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Understand — Un der*stand ([u^]n d[ e]r*st[a^]nd ), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Understood} (([u^]n d[ e]r*st[oo^]d ),), and Archaic {Understanded}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Understanding}.] [OE. understanden, AS. understandan, literally, to stand under; cf. AS. forstandan… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • understand — [un΄dər stand′] vt. understood, understanding [ME understanden < OE understandan, lit., to stand among, hence observe, understand] 1. to get or perceive the meaning of; know or grasp what is meant by; comprehend [to understand a question] 2.… …   English World dictionary

  • Understand — is a commercial static code analysis software tool produced by SciTools. It is primarily used to reverse engineer, automatically document, and calculate code metrics for projects with large code bases.Understand works through an IDE designed to… …   Wikipedia

  • Understand — Un der*stand , v. i. 1. To have the use of the intellectual faculties; to be an intelligent being. [1913 Webster] Imparadised in you, in whom alone I understand, and grow, and see. Donne. [1913 Webster] 2. To be informed; to have or receive… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • understand — [v1] appreciate, comprehend accept, apprehend, be aware, be conscious of, be with it*, catch, catch on, conceive, deduce, discern, distinguish, explain, fathom, figure out, find out, follow, get*, get the hang of*, get the idea*, get the picture* …   New thesaurus

  • understand — I verb absorb, apperceive, appreciate, apprehend, assimilate, be apprised, be informed, cognize, comprehend, conceive, conclude, conjecture, deduce, digest, discern, fathom, gather, glean, grasp, infer, intellegere, internalize, know, learn,… …   Law dictionary

  • understand by — index construe (comprehend) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • understand — ► VERB (past and past part. understood) 1) perceive the intended meaning of (words, a language, or a speaker). 2) perceive the significance, explanation, or cause of. 3) interpret or view in a particular way. 4) infer from information received.… …   English terms dictionary

  • understand */*/*/ — UK [ˌʌndə(r)ˈstænd] / US [ˌʌndərˈstænd] verb [never progressive] Word forms understand : present tense I/you/we/they understand he/she/it understands present participle understanding past tense understood UK [ˌʌndə(r)ˈstʊd] / US [ˌʌndərˈstʊd]… …   English dictionary

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