Prehenso, prehensas, prehensare: siue prenso, prensas, prensare. per syncopam, Frequentatiuum. Liu.To catch at a thing often: to sollicite and labour men to giue their voyces.Supplex prehensat homines.Liu.He with humble suite laboureth to men.Manu prensare brachia. Horat. With his hande to indeuour to take men by the armes.Genua circunstantiam prensare.Tacit.Prensant fastigia dextris.Virg.They take holde on the toppes with their hands.Ad consilium prensandum tempus opus esse. Liuius. That there needed time to take counsayle. Initium prensandi.Cic.
Lewis and Short: Latin dictionary
prĕhenso, and more freq. prenso, āvi, ātum, 1, v. freq. a. [id.], to grasp, seize, catch, lay hold of (not freq. till after the Aug. period). I. In gen.: prensare manu bracchia, Hor. S. 1, 9, 64: fastigia dextris, Verg. A. 2, 444: tenaci forcipe ferrum, id. ib. 12, 404: lubrica prensantes effugit umbra manus, Ov. F. 5, 476: prehensare hostium tela, Tac. H. 3, 28.—II. In partic., to take hold of, detain a person, in order to talk with him, thank him, entreat him, etc.: arma, genua, vestigia prensando, flexere militum animos, Tac. H. 1, 66: commanipularium pectora, id. ib. 4, 46: itaque prenso amicos, supplico, ambio domos, Plin. Ep. 2, 9: prensatas exeuntium manus, Liv. 4, 60.—B.Transf., to sue or solicit for an office: circumire et prensare patres, Liv. 1, 47, 7.—So absol.: prensat unus P. Galba,
solicits for the consulship
, Cic. Att. 1, 1, 1: nos initium prensandi facere cogitaramus, id. ib.