prehensile

adjective pre·hen·sile \ prē-ˈhen(t)-səl , -ˈhen-ˌsī(-ə)l \

|Updated on: 25 Apr 2018

Examples: prehensile in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of prehensile

1 : adapted for seizing or grasping especially by wrapping around

prehensile tail

2 : gifted with mental grasp or moral or aesthetic perception

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prehensility

play \(ˌ)prē-ˌhen-ˈsi-lə-tē\ noun

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Examples of prehensile in a Sentence

The monkey has a prehensile tail.
The elephant has a prehensile trunk.

Recent Examples of prehensile from the Web

The cuscus hangs on by its fingertips—or its curling, prehensile tail.

— The Economist, "Asia’s appetite for endangered species is relentless," 19 Apr. 2018
In a woodblock, once In an early-Netherlandish world, He is shown with a crocodile, a unicorn, and a wobbly man With a tail and prehensile feet.

— connie bruck, The New Yorker, "Giraffe," 14 Mar. 2018
Correction: A previous version of this article state New World monkeys lack prehensile tails.

— sarah gibbens, National Geographic, "Mysterious Amazon Animal Seen Alive for First Time in 80 Years," 25 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'prehensile.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

You may be familiar with "prehensile" from the animal world: monkeys have prehensile tails, elephants have prehensile trunks, giraffes have prehensile tongues, etc. But can you comprehend where this word comes from? Can you apprehend its derivation? The Latin verb prehendere, meaning "to seize or grasp," is the ancestor of a number of English terms, including "comprehend," "apprehend," and "prehensile." "Prehensile" came into English in the 1780s via French préhensile, from Latin prehensus, the past participle of "prehendere."