perceive, v.
(pəˈsiːv)
Forms: 4–7 perceyue, -ve, perceiue, (4 -cayue, -seiue, 4–5 -seyue, -sayue, 5–6 Sc. -sawe, 6 -saue, -saife, -saive, 6 -cive, 6–7 -ceaue, -ve); 4– perceive; also 4–6 par-, 5 pur-.
[a. OF. *perceiv-re, northern form of per{cced}oivre, now percevoir (stressed stem perceiv- = per{cced}oiv-); = Pr. percebre, Sp. percebir, Pg. perceber:—L. percipĕre to take possession of, seize, get, obtain, receive, gather, collect; also, to apprehend with the mind or senses, understand, perceive; f. per through, thoroughly + capĕre to take, seize, lay hold of, etc. Both branches of the L. sense were used in OF.; mod.F. has chiefly that of ‘receive, collect’, which is less important in Eng., and now obs. (Perceive may in some cases have been aphetic for aperceive, apperceive.)]
I. To take in or apprehend with the mind or senses.
1. trans. To apprehend with the mind; to become aware or conscious of; to observe, understand. Const. simple obj., obj. clause, or obj. and inf. or compl. Also absol.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 8625 (Cott.) At þe last..sco parceuid, Þat sco was of hir child deceuid. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 16263 Þider cam nought þo Osewy;..When Penda hit perseiued, he made gret fare ffor þat Osewy was nought þare. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xx. 66 He perceyuede by his pous he was in peril to deye. c 1400 Ywaine & Gaw. 2034 Sir Ywayn persayved..That it was so ner the nyght That no ferrer ride he might. 1526 Tindale Mark ii. 8 When Jesus perceaved in his sprete, that they so reasoned in them selves. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. ii. i. 159 Doe you not perceiue the iest? 1681 P. Rycaut tr. Gracian's Critick 143 He..perceived himself led another way. a 1733 Mandeville World Unmasked (1736) 15, I perceive I shall soon have a very different opinion of that master than I have hitherto entertain'd. 1802 Paley Nat. Theol. v. §7 (1819) 65 If we perceive a useful end and means adapted to that end, we perceive enough for our conclusion. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 75 The courtiers and foreign ministers soon perceived that the Lord Treasurer was prime minister only in name. 1862 H. Spencer First Princ. i. iii. §20 If..the object perceived is self, what is the subject that perceives? |
† b. Of an inanimate object: ‘To be affected by’ (J.). Obs. rare—1.
| 1626 Bacon Sylva §818 The Vpper Regions of the Aire perceiue the collection of the matter of Tempest and Winds, before the Aire here below. |
† 2. To take in fully or adequately; to grasp the meaning of, comprehend, understand. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 10785 (Cott.) Þe feind suld noght perceiue Þat a maiden suld consaiue. c 1460 Towneley Myst. vii. 92 Perceyf well what I shall say. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 32 b, It is requyred that he haue..suche langage, as he may be perceyued of them to whome he precheth. 1559 Prim. Hen. VIII Pref. in Priv. Prayers Q. Eliz. (Parker Soc.) 12 That the youthe..vse the same, vntill thei bee of compitent vnderstandyng and knoweledge to perceiue it in latin. 1575 Laneham Let. (1871) 35 Forte grande est la pouuoyr qu'auoit la tresnoble Science de Musique sur les esprites humains: perceiue ye me? I haue told ye a great matter noow. |
3. To apprehend (an external object) through one of the senses (esp. sight); to become aware of by sight, hearing, or other sense; to observe; ‘to discover by some sensible effects’ (J.). Const. as in 1.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron (1810) 18 Þat [? read þan] perceyued Haldayn, þat bare þe croice on hie, Sex & þritty paiens enbussed priuelie. 13.. K. Alis. 1984 (Bodl. MS.) He haþ perceyued by his siȝth, Þat he ne haþ aȝein hym miȝth. 1382 Wyclif Acts ii. 14 Be this thing knowun to ȝou, and with eeris perseyue my wordis. c 1420 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 264 Next vnto hym, as I perceue mought, Sate the goddese Diana. c 1440 York Myst. xl. 164 By no poynte couthe I parceyue hym passe. c 1470 Henry Wallace iii. 250 Na Sothren that tyme was persawyt in thai wais, Bot he tholyt dede that come in thar danger. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 206 They went awaye by nyght so pryvely, that the enemy perceived it not. 1592 Davies Immort. Soul xv. v. (1714) 70 Ev'n the Ears of such as have no Skill, Perceive a Discord. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. v. iii. 13 Are those my Tents where I perceiue the fire? 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 98 By the cries she perceived the troopes to bee in a hot conflict. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters I. 132 No remarkable smell could be perceived from it. 1812 H. & J. Smith Rej. Addr. xiii, [She] Protrudes her gloveless hand, perceives the shower. 1878 Geo. Eliot Coll. Breakf. P. 226 Whatever sense perceives or thought divines. |
† 4. refl. (= F. se percevoir, s'apercevoir) and pass., in senses 1 and 3. Const. that, of. a. refl. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 443 When he [Lucifer] parceued him be [MS. he] þis Þat he was ouer all oþer in blis. 13.. Guy Warw. (A.) 7261 Gij him perceyued in þat stounde Þat..þurch wepen y-grounde..No slouȝ him man neuer mo. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour lv. E v, A seruaunt of her lord..perceyued hym of it and told it to his lord. c 1489 ― Blanchardyn xxi. 71 I haue not perceyued me of this that ye telle me. |
† b. pass. to be perceived: to be aware. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 1893 (Cott.) Quen noe sagh and was parseueid Þat þis rauen had him deceueid. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 159 R[ichard] was perceyued, þei were renged redie. c 1470 Henry Wallace xi. 106 Or thai com ner that place, Off thaim persawyt rycht weill was gud Wallace. |
† 5. trans. To apprehend what is not open or present to observation; to see through, see into. Obs.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce x. 37 The King..Persauit thair subtilite. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 10 Lest here ypocrisie be parceyued. c 1440 Generydes 3193 Whanne the Sowdon perseivid his entent. 1532 More Confut. Tindale Wks. 666/2 Here is it ethe to spye and perceyue hys iuglyng well inoughe. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxvii. 154 They think their designes are too subtile to be perceived. 1660 Stanley Hist. Philos. III. i. 35 For those who futures would perceave. |
† 6. To recognize. Obs. rare.
| 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 216 Not onely could they not perceiue theim by their faces, but also they could not discerne theim by any other marke..in all their bodies. |
† 7. intr. To discern between. Obs. rare.
| 1495 Trevisa's Barth. De P.R. vi. v. (W. de W.) 192 By voys and face we perceyue [MSS. men knowiþ] bytwene chyldren and men of full aege. |
II. To take into possession. Cf. L. percipĕre, F. percevoir, in lit. sense, from L. capĕre to take.
† 8. trans. To receive (rents, profits, dues, etc.).
| 1382 Wyclif Tobit xiv. 15 Al the eritage of the hous of Raguel he perceyvede [Vulg. percepit]. 1472–3 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 4/2 Every of the seid men Archers, to have and perceyve vi d. by the day oonly. 1512 Knaresb. Wills (Surtees) I. 4, I will that my forsaid doghters have and persaive all the revenieuse. 1596 Bacon Max. & Use Com. Law i. xx. (1636) 73. 1625 Concession to Sir F. Crane in Rymer Fædera XVIII. 60 To have, houlde, perceive, receive and take the said annuitie or yeerely pension of two thousand pounds. |
† b. in gen. sense: To receive, get, obtain. Obs.
| 1482 Monk of Evesham (Arb.) 75 Gretely merueylde why he yat was so honeste of leuyng..had not yette perceiuyd fully reste and ioye. 1540–54 Croke Ps. (Percy Soc.) 19 Full spedely let me obteyne Thy socoure, and perceyue the same. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. i. i. 144 Pro. Why? could'st thou perceiue so much from her? Sp. Sir, I could perceiue nothing at all from her; No, not so much as a ducket for deliuering your letter. 1748 J. Norton Redeemed Captive (1870) 22 Mrs. Smeed was as wet..but through the good providence of God, she never perceived any harm by it. |