Com`pre*hen"sive (?), a.
[Cf. F. compréhensif.]
1. Including much; comprising many things; having a wide scope
or a full view.
A very comprehensive
definition.
Bentley.
Large and comprehensive idea.
Channing.
2. Having the power to
comprehend or understand many
things. "His comprehensive head."
Pope.
3. (Zoöl.) Possessing peculiarities that are characteristic of several diverse
groups.
&fist; The
term is applied chiefly to early fossil groups which have a
combination of structures
that appear in more fully
developed or specialized forms in
later groups. Synthetic, as used by Agassiz, is nearly synonymous.
Syn. -- Extensive; wide; large; full; compendious.
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