Origin: Germanic Old English prefix
Understood has 5 different meanings across 2 categories:
simple past tense and past participle of understand
"The instructions were understood by every team member before we began the project."
In plain English: To understand something means to get what is being said or shown.
"She nodded to show that she understood the instructions."
fully apprehended as to purport or meaning or explanation
"the understood conditions of troop withdrawal were clear"
implied by or inferred from actions or statements
"gave silent consent"
"a tacit agreement"
"the understood provisos of a custody agreement"
Having been comprehended.
"She nodded and smiled, showing she had understood his instructions perfectly."
In plain English: Understood means that someone has fully grasped what was said or done without any confusion.
"The instructions were not fully understood by the new employees."
Usage: Use understood as an adjective to describe something that has already been grasped, such as in the phrase "an understood rule." Avoid confusing it with the past tense verb form when you need a participle like "understood" functioning purely descriptively within a noun phrase.
Indicates comprehension on the part of the speaker.
"I understood exactly what you meant when you explained the new policy during the meeting."
Derived from Old English undrestāndan, this past tense form combines under (beneath) with stāndan (to stand), originally meaning to stand beneath or comprehend by grasping an idea. It evolved into Middle English as a verb indicating mental comprehension before becoming the standard past tense of "understand.