prehensile

****************************************************************
Introducing WORD SWEEP!, the first board game to feature Merriam-Webster 
definitions! Enjoy hours of challenging fun. Try it at:
http://www.wordsweep.com 
****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for May 9 is: 

prehensile   \pre-HEN-sil\   adjective
    *1 : adapted for seizing or grasping especially by wrapping around
     2 : gifted with mental grasp or moral or aesthetic perception

Example sentence
     Using his prehensile tail, the monkey was able to seize the pen right out 
of my hand!
 
Did you know? 
     You may be familiar with "prehensile" from the animal world: monkeys have 
prehensile tails, elephants have prehensile trunks, giraffes have prehensile 
tongues, etc. But can you comprehend where this word comes from? Can you 
apprehend its derivation? The Latin verb "prehendere," meaning "to seize or 
grasp," is the ancestor of a number of English terms, including "comprehend," 
"apprehend," and "prehensile." "Prehensile" came into English in the 1780s via 
French "prehensile," from Latin "prehensus," the past participle of 
"prehendere."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.





You Are Subscribed As: gclw-mw-wod7@xxxxxxxxx
To unsubscribe, change your e-mail address or to subscribe to the html
version of Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day, featuring audio
pronunciations, please visit:

http://mw.drhinternet.net/sm/wod/changeofaddress.iphtml

(c) 2007 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

Merriam-Webster, Inc.
47 Federal Street
P.O. Box 281
Springfield, MA 01102