grasp

n. 抓住；理解；控制

vt. 抓住；领会

vi. 抓

中文词源

grasp 抓紧，抓牢

词源同grab, 抓住，抓牢。字母s、p置换。

grasp (v.): mid-14c., "to reach, grope, feel around," possibly a metathesis of grapsen, from Old English *græpsan "to touch, feel," from Proto-Germanic *grap-, *grab- (cognates: East Frisian grapsen "to grasp," Middle Dutch grapen "to seize, grasp," Old English grapian "to touch, feel, grope"), from PIE root *ghrebh- (1) "to seize, reach" (see grab (v.)). With verb-formative -s- as in cleanse. Sense of "seize" first recorded mid-16c. Transitive use by 17c. Figurative use from c. 1600; of intellectual matters from 1680s. Related: Grasped; grasping.
grasp (n.): 1560s, "a handle," from grasp (v.). As "act of grasping" from c. 1600; also "power of grasping." Meaning "power of intellect" is from 1680s.
Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what's a heaven for?

[Browning, "Andrea del Sarto"]

1. He let the ball slip through his grasp and into the net.: 球从他的掌中滑出，钻进了球门。

3. Attlee was extremely intelligent and his grasp of the situation was masterly.: 阿特利聪明过人，对局势的把握颇为高明。

4. I know that you'refloundering around, trying to grasp at any straw.: 我知道你正不知所措，是在病急乱投医。

5. The people in your grasp are not guests, they are hostages.: 你所控制的这些人不是客人，而是人质。