Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To become aware of (something) directly through any of the senses, especially sight or hearing.
  • transitive verb To cause or allow the mind to become aware of (a stimulus).
  • transitive verb To achieve understanding of; apprehend: synonym: see.
  • transitive verb To regard or consider; deem.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In general, to become aware of; gain a knowledge of (some object or fact).
  • Specifically, to come to know by direct experience; in psychology, to come to know by virtue of a real action of the object upon the mind (commonly upon the senses), though the knowledge may be inferential; know through external or internal intuition.
  • Synonyms Observe, Notice, etc. See see.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To obtain knowledge of through the senses; to receive impressions from by means of the bodily organs; to take cognizance of the existence, character, or identity of, by means of the senses; to see, hear, or feel
  • transitive verb To take intellectual cognizance of; to apprehend by the mind; to be convinced of by direct intuition; to note; to remark; to discern; to see; to understand.
  • transitive verb rare To be affected of influenced by.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To see, to be aware of, to understand.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb become conscious of
  • verb to become aware of through the senses

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English perceiven, from Old French perceivre, from Latin percipere : per-, per- + capere, to seize; see kap- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English perceiven, from Old French percevoir, perceveir, from Latin percipere, past participle perceptus ("take hold of, obtain, receive, observe"), from per ("by, through") + capere ("to take"); see capable. Compare conceive, deceive, receive.

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