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Origin and history of construe

construe(v.)

late 14c., "to arrange the words of (a translation) in their natural order," hence "to interpret, explain, understand the meaning of," from Late Latin construere "to relate grammatically," in classical Latin "to build up, pile together," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + struere "to pile up" (from PIE root *stere- "to spread").

Specific sense in law, "to explain or interpret for legal purposes," is from 1580s. Compare construction and construct (v.), which is a later doublet. Related: Construed; construing; construal.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to construe

construct(v.)

1660s, "put together the parts of in their proper place and order," from Latin constructus, past participle of construere "pile up together, accumulate; build, make, erect," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + struere "to pile up" (from PIE *streu-, extended form of root *stere- "to spread"). Sense of "to devise and form in the mind" is from 1755. Related: Constructed; constructing.

construction(n.)

late 14c., construccioun, "act of construing; manner of understanding the arrangement of words in translation" (a sense now obsolete), from Latin constructionem (nominative constructio) "a putting or placing together, a building," noun of action from past-participle stem of construere "to pile up together, accumulate; build, make, erect," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + struere "to pile up" (from PIE *streu-, extended form of root *stere- "to spread").

The oldest sense in English goes with construe, and led to the meanings "the construing, explaining, or interpreting of a text" (late 15c.) and "explanation of the words of a legal document" which endures in parliamentary language ("What construction do you put on this clause?"); also compare constructionist.

From early 15c. as "act of building or making;" 1707 as "way or form in which a thing is built or made;" 1796 as "that which is constructed, a structure." Related: Constructional; constructionally.

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interpret
late 14c., "expound the meaning of, render clear or explicit," from Old French interpreter "explain; translate" (13c.) and directly from Latin interpretari "explain, expound, understand," from interpres "agent, translator," from inter "between" (see inter-) + second element proba
see
Middle English sēn, from Old English seon (Anglian sean) "be or become aware of by means of the eye; look, behold;" also "perceive mentally, understand; experience; visit (a place); inspect" (contracted class V strong verb; past tense seah, past participle sewen), from Proto-Germ
deuce
late 15c., dews, "the 2 in dice or cards," also "a roll of 2 in dice" (1510s), from Old French deus (Modern French deux), from Latin duos (nominative duo) "two" (from PIE root *dwo- "two"). The spelling -ce from -s to reflect voiceless pronunciation is as in dice, pence, etc. The
scan
late 14c., scannen, "to mark off verse in metric feet, analyze verse according to its meter," from Late Latin scandere "to scan verse," originally, in classical Latin, "to climb, rise, mount" (the connecting notion is of the rising and falling rhythm of poetry), from PIE *skand-
understand
Old English understandan "to comprehend, grasp the idea of, receive from a word or words or from a sign the idea it is intended to convey; to view in a certain way," probably literally "stand in the midst of," from under + standan "to stand" (see stand (v.)). If this is the meani
extract
"to draw out, withdraw, take or get out, pull out or remove from a fixed position, literally or figuratively," late 15c., from Latin extractus, past participle of extrahere "draw out," from ex "out, out of" (see ex-) + trahere "to draw" (see tract (n.1)). Related: Extracted; extr
take
Middle English taken, from late Old English tacan "to grip, seize by force, lay hold of," from a Scandinavian source (such as Old Norse taka "take, grasp, lay hold," past tense tok, past participle tekinn; also compare Swedish ta, past participle tagit). This is reconstructed to
evoke
"to call or summon forth or out," 1620s, from French évoquer or directly from Latin evocare "call out, rouse, summon," from assimilated form of ex "out" (see ex-) + vocare "to call," which is related to vox (genitive vocis) "voice" (from PIE root *wekw- "to speak"). Often more or
dare
Middle English durren, daren, from first and third person singular of Old English durran "be bold enough, have courage" (to do something), also transitive "to venture, presume," from Proto-Germanic *ders- (source also of Old Norse dearr, Old High German giturran, Gothic gadaursan
dear
Old English deore (Anglian diore, West Saxon dyre), "precious, valuable; costly, expensive; glorious, noble; loved, beloved, regarded with affection" from Proto-Germanic *deurja- (source also of Old Saxon diuri "precious, dear, expensive," Old Norse dyrr, Old Frisian diore "expen

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