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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Understand \Un'der*stand"\ ([u^]n'd[~e]r*st[a^]nd"), verb (used with an object) [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 to understand, G. verstehen. The development of sense is not clear. See {Under}, and {Stand}.]
1. To have just and adequate ideas of; to apprehended the meaning or intention of; to have knowledge of; to comprehend; to know; as, to understand a problem in Euclid; to understand a proposition or a declaration; the court understands the advocate or his argument; to understand the sacred oracles; to understand a nod or a wink.
Speaketh [i. e., speak thou] so plain at this time, I you pray, That we may understande what ye say. --Chaucer.
I understand not what you mean by this. --Shak.
Understood not all was but a show. --Milton.
A tongue not understanded of the people. --Bk. of Com. Prayer.
2. To be apprised, or have information, of; to learn; to be informed of; to hear; as, I understand that Congress has passed the bill.
3. To recognize or hold as being or signifying; to suppose to mean; to interpret; to explain.
The most learned interpreters understood the words of sin, and not of Abel. --Locke.
4. To mean without expressing; to imply tacitly; to take for granted; to assume.
War, then, war, Open or understood, must be resolved. --Milton.
5. To stand under; to support. [Jocose & R.] --Shak.
{To give one to understand}, to cause one to know.
{To make one's self understood}, to make one's meaning clear.
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |