comprehension

Borrowed from Middle French compréhension, from Latin comprehensiō (“taking together”), from com- (“with, together”) +‎ prehendō (“take”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌkɒmpɹɪˈhɛnʃn̩/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌkɑmpɹɪˈhɛnʃn̩/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˌkɔmpɹɪˈhenʃn̩/

comprehension (countable and uncountable, plural comprehensions)

1. A thorough understanding.

   Students will be tested on their comprehension of sentences in the foreign language.

   • 1949, F. A. Hayek, “The Intellectuals and Socialism”, in University of Chicago Law Review, volume 16, number 3, Chicago: University of Chicago, →DOI, page 428:

     What appeal to him are the broad visions, the specious comprehension of the social order as a whole which a planned system promises.

2. (logic) The totality of intensions, that is, attributes, characters, marks, properties, or qualities, that the object possesses, or else the totality of intensions that are pertinent to the context of a given discussion.
3. (programming) A compact syntax for generating a collection in some programming languages, traditionally lists in functional programming languages.
4. (Christianity) The inclusion of nonconformists within the Church of England.
5. (education) Reading comprehension.

• understanding