Perceive | Vocabulary | Khan Academy

Open your minds, word Smiths!

We're talking about the word "perceive." Ah, it's one of those E before I words; some of the hardest to spell in English. Perceive is a verb. This verb means to notice something. You might also know it from its noun form, "perception." Perception is a non-specific way of saying that your senses are picking something up. You can perceive sights, smells, tastes, sounds, feelings. Perception, perceiving covers all of that.

So this comes from Latin; all of it does. Because of the E before I thing in the verb form, I think it's a little easier to break it down as a noun. So let's look at "perception." So "per" is a prefix that means completely or through. The "sept" part comes from "capa," which you might also see as "CA capap PT." It means to grasp, to grab, and "I N" is a noun forming suffix, right? An ending that turns other words into nouns.

So a perception is when you grasp something completely, when you understand it. Let's take 10 seconds and come up with some similar words that contain these elements: per and capped and I N. 3, 2, 1.

Let's [Music] J [Music] okay! Here's some I came up with:

"Pervasive," an adjective meaning everywhere. "Per" means through and "vad" means to go. Compare the word "invade," right? To go in. So something that's pervasive has completely gone through a community: pervasive influence, pervasive illness, pervasive trends.

"Capture," a verb meaning to grab, to take by force. This is probably as close a direct English translation as you can get of the Latin verb "cap."

"Reception," a noun meaning getting something, receiving a thing. You might have bad reception in the dining room because the Wi-Fi is weak there. Or "reception" can mean a formal event, like a wedding reception. The thing you are receiving is partygoers; you are welcoming them to celebrate with you.

Let's use "perception" and "perceive" in a couple of sentences. Thanks to his keen powers of perception, Walter saw that the BR was about to collapse and kept everyone away. He saw it; he noticed it. Right? He looked at the bridge and he was like, "That structural beam exhibits signs of metal fatigue." Good eye, Walter! Thanks for saving lives.

Let's do another one: using her psychic powers, Jade perceived VI before he entered the room. Right? She's sensing him with, in this case, her psychic powers. And of course, another term for psychic powers is extra-sensory perception.

H! What we used to call the sixth sense. That's right, I'm putting more content in the outro; try to stop me! Oh right, I forgot! I cannot be stopped! But you can't either because you can learn anything!

David out!