'Perceive' is Latin for 'seize through' — understanding as grasping, from 'capere' (to take).
To become aware of something through the senses; to understand or interpret in a particular way.
From Old French percevoir (to perceive, notice, understand), from Latin percipere (to seize entirely, to take possession of, to comprehend), formed from per- (through, thoroughly) + capere (to take, seize, grasp), from PIE *keh₂p- (to grasp, to seize). The semantic shift from physical grasping to mental comprehension occurred already in classical Latin — percipere could mean 'to collect' (as in harvests or taxes), 'to feel physically' (as in pain), and 'to grasp with the mind.' This metaphor of understanding as grasping is deeply
The metaphor of understanding as physical grasping is remarkably universal — English says 'I grasp your meaning,' Latin shifted 'capere' (seize) to 'percipere' (comprehend), and German uses 'begreifen' (literally 'to grab') to mean 'to understand.' The mind, it seems, is always reaching for ideas as if they were objects.