comprehension Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an ability to understand the meaning or importance of something (or the knowledge acquired as a result)
    • how you can do that is beyond my comprehension
    • he was famous for his comprehension of American literature
  2. noun the relation of comprising something
    inclusion.
    • he admired the inclusion of so many ideas in such a short work

WordNet

Com`pre*hen"sion noun
Etymology
L. comprehensio: cf. F. compréhension.
Definitions
  1. The act of comprehending, containing, or comprising; inclusion.
    In the Old Testament there is a close comprehension of the New; in the New, an open discovery of the Old. Hooker.
  2. That which is comrehended or inclosed within narrow limits; a summary; an epitome. Obs.
    Though not a catalogue of fundamentals, yet . . . a comprehension of them. Chillingworth.
  3. The capacity of the mind to perceive and understand; the power, act, or process of grasping with the intellect; perception; understanding; as, a comprehension of abstract principles.
  4. (Logic) The complement of attributes which make up the notion signified by a general term.
  5. (Rhet.) A figure by which the name of a whole is put for a part, or that of a part for a whole, or a definite number for an indefinite.

Webster 1913