There’s apprehension, there’s comprehension, there’s even prehension. All of these words relate to a form of understanding, of “getting it”. (And perhaps, in the case of apprehension, being worried about it because you get it.)

It occurs to me (I really do have too much time on my hands) that this state of enlightenment is probably the most valuable state to be in. When it eludes me, I feel very unsettled. I spend an enormous amount of time trying to understand things.

In other words, I want hension. But, ironically, this suffix is not a word in and of itself. I’ve looked everywhere.

Isn’t that strange? Here’s this priceless commodity, one that many people spend their entire lives seeking, and technically, it doesn’t exist. Maybe some day it will be in the Oxford English Dictionary, and my humble little blog will be credited with its origination. In the mean time, though, we are left with no ability to achieve hension, or at the very least, no way to describe it when we’re there.

My head hurts.

Apprehension

[ap-ri-hen-shuh n]

noun

1. anticipation of adversity or misfortune; suspicion or fear of future trouble or evil.
2. the faculty or act of apprehending or understanding; perception on a direct and immediate level.
3. acceptance of or receptivity to information without passing judgment on its validity, often without complete comprehension.
4. a view,opinion, or idea on any subject.
5. the act of arresting; seizure:

comprehension

[kom-pri-hen-shuh n]

noun

1. the act or process of comprehending.
2. the state of being comprehended.
3. perception or understanding:
4. capacity of the mind to perceive and understand; power to grasp ideas; ability to know.

prehension

[pri-hen-shuh n]

noun

1. the act of seizing or grasping.

2. mental apprehension.