grasp

Meaning

Verb

1. To grip; to take hold, particularly with the hand.
2. To understand.
3. To take advantage of something, to seize, to jump at a chance.

Noun

1. Grip.
2. Understanding.
3. That which is accessible; that which is within one's reach or ability.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɡɹɑːsp/

Etymology

From Middle English graspen, grapsen, craspen (“to grope; feel around”), from Old English *grǣpsian, from Proto-West Germanic *graipisōn, from Proto-Germanic *graipisōną, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to take, seize, rake”), the same ultimate source as grab.
Cognate with German Low German grapsen (“to grab; grasp”), German grapsen and grapschen, Saterland Frisian Grapse (“double handful”), Old English grāpian ("to touch, feel, grasp"; > Modern English grope). Compare also Swedish krafsa (“to scatch; scabble”), Norwegian krafse (“to scramble”).

Sentences

It was just that he couldn't grasp what it meant .