com- ‘together’ + prehendere ‘grasp’

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UNDERSTAND, COMPREHEND, APPRECIATE mean to have a clear or complete idea of.

UNDERSTAND and COMPREHEND are very often interchangeable.

UNDERSTAND may, however, stress the fact of having attained a firm mental grasp of something.

e.g. orders that were fully understood and promptly obeyed

COMPREHEND may stress the process of coming to grips with something intellectually.

e.g. I have trouble comprehending your reasons for doing this

APPRECIATE implies a just evaluation or judgment of a thing's value or nature.

e.g. failed to appreciate the risks involved

INCLUDE, COMPREHEND, EMBRACE, INVOLVE mean to contain within as part of the whole.

INCLUDE suggests the containment of something as a constituent, component, or subordinate part of a larger whole.

e.g. the price of dinner includes dessert

COMPREHEND implies that something comes within the scope of a statement or definition.

e.g. his system comprehends all history

EMBRACE implies a gathering of separate items within a whole.

e.g. her faith embraces both Christian and non-Christian beliefs

INVOLVE suggests inclusion by virtue of the nature of the whole, whether by being its natural or inevitable consequence.

e.g. the new job involves a lot of detail

verb with object

1. grasp mentally; understand:

(しっかりと)〈事･物･人(の本質)〉を理解する; 〖～ wh節/that節〗 …か［…ということ］を理解する(understand) (!(1)通例進行形にしない. (2)しばしば否定的語句を伴う)

e.g. he couldn't comprehend her reasons for marrying Lovat

e.g. I simply couldn't comprehend what had happened.

2. formal include, comprise, or encompass:

…を含む, 包括する(include)

e.g. a divine order comprehending all men.

comprehender noun

Middle English: from Old French comprehender, or Latin comprehendere, from com- ‘together’ + prehendere ‘grasp’.