King James Bible Dictionary

UNDERSTAND', verb transitive preterit tense and participle passive understood. [under and stand. The sense is to support or hold in the mind.]

1. To have just and adequate ideas of; to comprehend; to know; as, to understand a problem in Euclid; to understand a proposition or a declaration.

2. To have the same ideas as the person who speaks, or the ideas which a person intends to communicate. I understood the preacher; the court perfectly understand the advocate or his argument.

3. To receive or have the ideas expressed or intended to be conveyed in a writing or book; to know the meaning. It is important that we should understand the sacred oracles.

4. To know the meaning or signs, or of anything intended to convey ideas; as, to understand a nod, a wink, or a motion.

5. To suppose to mean.

The most learned interpreters understood the words of sin, and not of Abel.

6. To know by experience.

7. To know by instinct.

-Amorous intent, well understood.

8. To interpret, at least mentally.

9. To know another's meaning.

10. To hold in opinion with conviction.

11. To mean without expressing.

War then, war, open or understood must be resolv'd.

12. To know what is not expressed.

I bring them to receive from thee their names, and pay thee fealty with low subjection; understand the same of fish.

13. To learn; to be informed. I understand that congress have passed the bill.

UNDERSTAND', verb intransitive

1. To have the use of the intellectual faculties; to be an intelligent and conscious being.

All my soul be imparadis'd in you, in whom alone I understand and grow, and see.

2. To be informed by another; to learn.

I understood of the evil that Eliashib did. Nehemiah 13:1.

UNDERSTAND'ABLE, adjective That can be understood. [Not much used.]

UNDERSTAND'ER, noun One who understands or knows by experience. [Little used.]

UNDERSTAND'ING, participle present tense

1. Comprehending; apprehending the ideas or sense of another, or of a writing; learning or being informed.

2. adjective Knowing; skillful. He is an understanding man.

UNDERSTAND'ING, noun

1. The faculty of the human mind by which it apprehends the real state of things presented to it, or by which it receives or comprehends the ideas which others express and intend to communicate. The understanding is called also the intellectual faculty. It is the faculty by means of which we obtain a great part of our knowledge. Luke 24:45. Ephesians 1:18.

By understanding I mean that faculty whereby we are enabled to apprehend the objects of knowledge, generals or particulars, absent or present, and to judge of their truth or falsehood, good or evil.

There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding Job 32:8.

2. Knowledge; exact comprehension.

Right understanding consists in the perception of the visible or probably agreement or disagreement of ideas.

3. Intelligence between two or more persons; agreement of minds; union of sentiments. There is a good understanding between the minister and his people.

UNDERSTAND'INGLY, adverb Intelligibly; with full knowledge or comprehension of a question or subject; as, to vote upon a question understandingly; to act or judge understandingly

The gospel may be neglected, but it cannot be understandingly disbelieved.