For some reason I noticed this word yesterday and could not figure out how "stand" and "under" could compound into something meaning comprehend.
Any suggestions?
Perhaps there’s a coincidence of sounds that deceives us here:
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-).http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=understand
Not trying to mantle you but Dr Bill quoted a bit more extensively. Thanks to both of you.
O.E. understandan "comprehend, grasp the idea of," probably lit. "stand in the midst of," from under + standan "to stand" (see 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-). But the exact notion is unclear. Perhaps the ult. 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 Gmc. languages use compounds meaning "stand before" (cf. Ger. verstehen, represented in O.E. by forstanden ). For this concept, most I.E. languages use fig. extensions of compounds that lit. mean "put together," or "separate," or "take, grasp."
PS woo hoo I learned how to cut and paste!!! (I'm slowly overcoming my e-lliteracy)
Several people seeem to be in touch with Dr. Bill despite his vision problems. Would one of you pass on my fondest regards? And how can I get back in touch with him?
> more extensively
yeahbut I just went to the heart of it ;)
and didn't omit the source credit :)
hi Bill!
Interesting that the Romance languages use a form of comprehend to express the notion of understanding, e.g. comprenez in the French, compreender in the Portuguese and comprender the Spanish. Comprehend has been around as an English verb since the 14th Century, built upon the notion that the mind "seizes" or "takes hold" of something in much the same way that a hand grasps an object. (The Latin "prehendere" is from whence we get the English "prehensile".) Thus the Latin way is not about standing but about grasping ... which is yet another way of expressing understanding.
In German, unter still today means both "under" and "among," the latter as in Warsteiner's slogan, "The queen of beers."