to grasp, seize to understand 54 realizations
ACCEPTED Realization 1
Type Polysemy
Language Ancient Greek
Lexeme καταλαμβάνω
Meaning 1 to grasp, to embrace
Direction
Meaning 2 to grasp, to perceive
Reference LSJ
Comment LSJ 897; Sweetser 1990: 28
ACCEPTED Realization 2
Type Polysemy
Language Ancient Greek
Lexeme ἐφάπτω
Meaning 1 to touch, to grasp, to seize ξίφους ἐ.
to seize one's sword
Direction
Meaning 2 to reach with the mind, to attain to
Reference LSJ
Comment LSJ 741 The first meanin 'to tie, to bind. to fasten'
ACCEPTED Realization 3
Type Polysemy
Language Armenian
Lexeme ařnel
Meaning 1 to take
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand (word, expression)
Reference
Comment АрмРС 74-75
NEW Realization 4
Type Polysemy
Language Bulgarian
Lexeme уловя
Meaning 1 to grasp, seize
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand
Reference Bernštejn 1966: 677
Comment
NEW Realization 5
Type Polysemy
Language Croatian
Lexeme shvatiti
Meaning 1 to grasp, seize
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand
Reference HJP
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 6
Type Polysemy
Language Danish
Lexeme fatte
Meaning 1 to grasp, seize
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand fatte meningen
to understand the meaning
Reference DDO
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 7
Type Polysemy
Language Djabugay
Lexeme 1 duga-l
Lexeme 2 dugayi-y
Meaning 1 fetch, grab
Direction
Meaning 2 comprehend
Reference Haser 2000: 179-180
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 8
Type Polysemy
Language Djinang
Lexeme marki
Meaning 1 to get, pick up, obtain
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand
Reference Evans, Wilkins 2000: 568
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 9
Type Polysemy
Language English
Lexeme grasp
Meaning 1 to grasp
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand I grasped the main points of the speech.
Reference Sweetser 1990: 28
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 10
Type Polysemy
Language English
Lexeme catch
Meaning 1 to grasp
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand I don't quite catch the idea.
Reference
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 11
Type Polysemy
Language English
Lexeme get
Meaning 1 to get
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand He didn't get the point of the joke.
Он не понял шутки.
Reference
Comment ###Глагол уловить в архаичном …
ACCEPTED Realization 12
Type Polysemy
Language Erzya
Lexeme каподемс
Meaning 1 to grasp
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand
Reference
Comment ЭрзРС 233
ACCEPTED Realization 13
Type Polysemy
Language French
Lexeme saisir
Meaning 1 to grasp saisir un revolver
to grasp a revolver
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand ne pas être capable de saisir certaines analogies
to be unable to grasp certain analogies
Reference Vanhove 2008: 365
Comment Sweetser 2000: 28
ACCEPTED Realization 14
Type Derivation
Language German
Lexeme 1 greifen
Lexeme 2 begreifen
Meaning 1 to grasp
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand
Reference Vanhove 2008: 363
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 15
Type Derivation
Language German
Lexeme 1 fassen
Lexeme 2 erfassen
Meaning 1 to take
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand
Reference Vanhove 2008: 363
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 16
Type Polysemy
Language Hungarian
Lexeme felfog
Meaning 1 seize, gather, hold up (one's skirt), grasp szoknyát felfogni
to hold up one's skirt
Direction
Meaning 2 comprehend fel nem foghatom
I am unable to understand this
Reference Гальди 1974: 223
Comment fel 'up', fog 'hold, seize, grasp'
ACCEPTED Realization 17
Type Polysemy
Language Indonesian
Lexeme menangkap
Meaning 1 grasp
Direction
Meaning 2 understand
Reference Haser 2000: 179
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 18
Type Polysemy
Language Italian
Lexeme afferare
Meaning 1 to grasp afferrare per il collo
to grasp smn by the scruff
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand afferrare il senso di una frase
to understand the meaning of a phrase
Reference
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 19
Type Polysemy
Language Italian
Lexeme prendere
Meaning 1 to take prendere un bambino in braccio
to take a child in one's arms
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand prendere alla lettera
to understand literally
Reference
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 20
Type Polysemy
Language Japanese
Lexeme tsukamu (掴む)
Meaning 1 to grasp, to catch, to hold (in hand) 彼女は袋の口を両手でぎゅっとつかんでいた. Kanojo wa fukuro no kuchi o ryōte de gyutto tsukande ita.
She was squeezing the neck of the sack tightly with both hands.
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand, to grasp 彼は問題点がつかめていない. Kare wa mondaiten ga tsukamete inai.
He hasn't grasped what the problem is.
Reference
Comment Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary. T.Watanabe, E.Skrzypczak, P.Snowden eds. Tokyo: Kenkyusha. 2003 (5th edition)
ACCEPTED Realization 21
Type Polysemy
Language Karaim
Lexeme кап-
Meaning 1 to grasp, to take кабат колундан
he takes him by the hand
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand
Reference
Comment КРПС 290.
ACCEPTED Realization 22
Type Polysemy
Language Kilivila
Lexeme -sau-
Meaning 1 pick
Direction
Meaning 2 know, undersand, learn
Reference Haser 2000: 179
Comment
NEW Realization 23
Type Polysemy
Language Komi
Lexeme кватлавны
Meaning 1 to grasp, seize

горша кватлавны


grab greedily

Direction
Meaning 2 to understand, learn

бура кватлавны роч кыв


learn Russian well

Reference Beznosikova et al. 2000
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 24
Type Polysemy
Language Korean
Lexeme phaak
Meaning 1 grasping, seizing, grabbing
Direction
Meaning 2 understanding
Reference Haser 2000: 179
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 25
Type Semantic evolution
Language 1 Latin
Language 2 Italian
Lexeme 1 capio, -ere
Lexeme 2 capire
Meaning 1 to catch
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand
Reference Prati: 219-220
Comment Glare 269-271
ACCEPTED Realization 26
Type Semantic evolution
Language 1 Latin
Language 2 French
Lexeme 1 comprehendo, -ere
Lexeme 2 comprendre
Meaning 1 to grasp
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand
Reference
Comment (Glare 381)
ACCEPTED Realization 27
Type Polysemy
Language Macedonian
Lexeme fati
Meaning 1 to grasp
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand
Reference
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 28
Type Polysemy
Language Modern Hebrew
Lexeme tafas
Meaning 1 grasp
Direction
Meaning 2 understand
Reference Haser 2000: 179
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 29
Type Polysemy
Language Moksha
Lexeme фатямс
Meaning 1 to grasp Цёрась фатязе кядьта стирнять
the boy seized the girl by the hand
Direction
Meaning 2 to guess Маринкась фатясь сяда инголи
Marinka had guessed before
Reference
Comment МокшРС 797-798
ACCEPTED Realization 30
Type Polysemy
Language Mwotlap
Lexeme lep
Meaning 1 to take
Direction
Meaning 2 to get through the intellect, manage to understand (problem, explanations)
Reference Vanhove 2008: 364
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 31
Type Polysemy
Language Nahuatl
Lexeme aaci
Meaning 1 reach, touch, hold
Direction
Meaning 2 come to know something completely
Reference Haser 2000: 180
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 32
Type Polysemy
Language Norwegian
Lexeme fatte
Meaning 1 to grasp, seize
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand jeg fatter ikke hvordan du kunne gjøre det
I do not understand how you could do it
Reference BO
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 33
Type Polysemy
Language Old East Slavic
Lexeme поѩти
Meaning 1 to take, to catch, to seize
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand


Reference Sreznevskij: 1340-1342
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 34
Type Semantic evolution
Language 1 Old East Slavic
Language 2 Russian
Lexeme 1 уловити
Lexeme 2 ulovit'
Meaning 1 to catch [Срезневский 1989: 1179]
Direction
Meaning 2 to capture
Reference
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 35
Type Semantic evolution
Language Russian
Lexeme ponjat'
Meaning 1 to take, to grasp, to capture, to catch [Даль 1994-3: 743]
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand [Даль 1994-3: 743]
Reference [Даль 1994-3: 743]
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 36
Type Polysemy
Language Russian
Lexeme схватывать (shvatyvat')
Meaning 1 to grasp, to seize

Дальше лёд всё крепче схватывал реку, течение становилось всё уже, потом оно стало перерываться заторами. (Короленко. Мороз)


Further, the ice gripped the river more and more tightly, the current became narrower, then it began to be interrupted by traffic jams.

Direction
Meaning 2 to grasp Он все хорошо схватывает (= понимает).
He grasps everything very well.
Reference NRC
Comment Meaning B is realized in imperfective only and denotes a property. 
ACCEPTED Realization 37
Type Cognates
Language 1 Russian
Language 2 Czech
Lexeme 1 хапать (hapat')
Lexeme 2 chápati
Meaning 1 to grasp, seize
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand
Reference <personally collected data>
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 38
Type Polysemy
Language Sanskrit
Lexeme upalabh
Meaning 1 to seize, get possession of, acquire, receive, obtain, find
Direction
Meaning 2 to perceive, to understand, learn, know
Reference MW: 205
Comment
NEW Realization 39
Type Polysemy
Language Serbian
Lexeme схватити (shvatiti)
Meaning 1 to grasp, seize
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand схватити предавање
to understand lecture
Reference Vujanitsh et al. 2007: 1296
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 40
Type Polysemy
Language Sogdian
Lexeme γrβ-
Meaning 1 to take, to seize
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand
Reference
Comment ЭСИЯ 3, 276
ACCEPTED Realization 41
Type Polysemy
Language Soqotri
Lexeme édof
Meaning 1 to grasp, seize édofk ḷə-ʔóʔobən wa-ḳáḷaʕk toy (CSOL II 1:140 comment)
I took a stone and threw it
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand édof yhéhən énne bəʕer d-máʕšəl’ dénob (CSOL I 17:64)
He understood that the camel had no tale
Reference CSOL I: 465
Comment
NEW Realization 42
Type Polysemy
Language Spanish
Lexeme pillar
Meaning 1 to grasp, seize pillar el ladrón
catch the thief
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand no repitas el chiste porque todos lo hemos pillado
don't repeat the joke because we all got it
Reference <personally collected data>
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 43
Type Polysemy
Language Sumerian
Lexeme dab5
Meaning 1 to seize, grasp
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand, learn
Reference Haser 2000: 179
Comment The meaning B is partly represented in the compl. verb inim~dab5 (lit. "to seize the word"), i.e. "to begin to speak". But it could be "to seize the word" meaning "to take one's words, to perceive one's message" as well (spec. in the royal inscriptions in which the god's words are applied to a king).
ACCEPTED Realization 44
Type Polysemy
Language Swahili
Lexeme shika
Meaning 1 to grasp mshika mawili moja humponyoka
who starts doing two things at the same time, misses one fo them
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand
Reference Polikanov
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 45
Type Polysemy
Language Swedish
Lexeme fatta
Meaning 1 to grasp, seize hon fattade pennan och började skriva
he grasped the pen and began to write
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand en djupsinnighet som ingen fattade
a deep thought that no-one understood
Reference SAO
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 46
Type Polysemy
Language Syriac
Lexeme ʕrā, ʕrī
Meaning 1 to seize, take, comprehend ʕraw purqəsā(ʔ); pugdā d-killā ʕāre (h)wā
they took (occupied) the tower; he holds th bridles of everything
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand, comprehend lā ʕrā dnešmaʕ
he could not understand upon hearing
Reference SL: 1138
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 47
Type Polysemy
Language Tamil
Lexeme koḷ
Meaning 1 seize, grasp, receive, contain
Direction
Meaning 2 to consider, think
Reference Tamil lexicon: 1162
Comment koluttu 'cause to hold', 'explain'
NEW Realization 48
Type Polysemy
Language Tatar
Lexeme тоту
Meaning 1 to grasp, seize
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand
Reference Asylgaraev, Ganiev et al. (eds.) 2007: 2, 398
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 49
Type Polysemy
Language Tibetan
Lexeme adzin-pa
Meaning 1 to grasp, to catch, to hold
Direction
Meaning 2 to picture, to grasp
Reference
Comment Рерих VIII, 26.
ACCEPTED Realization 50
Type Polysemy
Language Tibetan
Lexeme 1 gdzung-adzin
Lexeme 2 gdzung-adzin-pa
Meaning 1 grasping, the grasped
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand, to grasp
Reference
Comment Рерих VIII, 183.
ACCEPTED Realization 51
Type Polysemy
Language Tigrinya
Lexeme ḥazä
Meaning 1 to hold, seize, grasp, grab ḥazzo
Grab him! Seize him!
Direction
Meaning 2 to understand, catch on to, realize zəbəllo zällok̲u təḥəzzodo
Do you understand what I'm saying?
Reference TED: 264
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 52
Type Polysemy
Language Turkish
Lexeme kavra-
Meaning 1 seize, grasp

Artık kılıcı lazım geldiği gibi kavramak gerek.


Now is time to hold the sword properly.

Direction
Meaning 2 understand, comprehend

Buranın 12.000 yıl önce insanlar tarafından yapıldığını kavramak bir şekilde zor.


To comprehend something that was created by man 12,000 years ago is somehow tricky.

Reference Haser 2000: 179 Baskakov 1977: 523 glosbe.com
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 53
Type Derivation
Language Wolof
Lexeme 1 jél
Lexeme 2 jél-i
Meaning 1 to take an object
Direction
Meaning 2 to guess sb's thought, twig, understand
Reference Vanhove 2008: 363
Comment
ACCEPTED Realization 54
Type Polysemy
Language Zulu
Lexeme ɓamba
Meaning 1 catch, grip, hold, grasp
Direction
Meaning 2 grasp with the intellect, understand
Reference Haser 2000: 180 Луцков А.Д. Зулу-Русский словарь 2014: 14
Comment