English → Latin
“grasp” in Latin
rapiōto snatch, grab, carry off, abduct, rape, steal; to snatch (oneself); take off, hurryprehendōto lay hold of, seize, grasp, grab, snatch, take, catch; to detain someone in order to speak with them, accost, lay or caffectōto strive after, pursue, aim to do; to desire, aspire at; to enter on or take a way, set out on, journeyrēgnumroyal power, power, control, reign; kingdom, realm, throne; kingship, royaltypetōto ask, beg, request, look for, inquire, petition, entreat; to make for (somewhere); to seek, aim at, desire
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
grasp v.
To clutch, rapere: arripere aliquid (violently): involare in aliquid (IMPROP., to fly upon anything for the purpose of taking immediate possession of it; e.g., in alienas possessiones): prehendere (to seize upon anything, to hold it): corripere aliquid (to snatch at anything eagerly). To endeavor to grasp anything, aliquid appetere manibus: to grasp anything eagerly, avide arripere aliquid.
INTRANS., To grasp at = endeavor to obtain (in a bad sense), affectare (e.g., at empire, regnum, Liv.; so dominationes, Sall., ap. Aug., Civ. Dei, 3, 17; not Cic.): petere: appetere aliquid (to seek to obtain): sectari: consectari (to pursue): aucupari (to lie in wait for an opportunity of seizing anything): manus afferre or adhibere alicui rei (IMPROP.; to stretch out one’s hands for the purpose of taking possession; e.g., vectigalibus; alienis bonis). To grasp at what does not belong to one, alienum appetere (Phaedrus; et alieni appotens, Sall.). To grasp at every, even the emptiest shadow of glory, omnes etiam umbras falsae gloriae consectari (Cic.).
grasp s.
[Vid. HOLD, s.] [Vid. HOLD, s.] ; e.g., to come into anybody’s grasp, in manus alicujus venire: to rescue or snatch anything from anybody’s grasp, aliquid e or ex manibus, or ex faucibus alicujus eripere.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for grasp?
- The usual Latin words for “grasp” are rapiō, prehendō, affectō; also rēgnum, petō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.