prehend-, prehens-

1. To delay the impending punishment or sentence of (a condemned person).
2. To relieve temporarily from any evil.
3. Respite from impending punishment, as from execution of a sentence of death.
4. Any respite or temporary relief.
5. Etymology: to delay the execution or punishment of person. In 1571, reprive, "take back to prison, remand"; alteration (perhaps influenced by Middle English repreven, "contradict, refute, disapprove, blame"; a variant of reproven) from Middle English repryen, "to remand, to detain"; probably borrowed from Middle French repris, past participle of reprendre, "to take back".

1. To encounter suddenly or unexpectedly; to take or catch unawares.
2. To attack, or to capture suddenly, and without warning.
3. To cause someone to feel wonder, astonishment, or amazement, as at something not anticipated or expected.
4. To cause (someone) to do or to say something unintended; and to elicit or to detect through surprise.
5. Etymology: "unexpected attack" or "capture", from Middle French surprise, "taking unawares" from the noun use of Old French surprendre, "to overtake"; from sur-, "over" + prendre, "to take"; from Latin prendere, contracted from prehendere "to grasp, to seize".

1. A captor who uses surprise to capture a victim.
2. Someone who attacks unexpectedly; also, anyone who captures by an unexpected attack.
3. Anyone who takes someone, or people, unexpectedly.