1. An observation, awareness, or realization, usu. based on physical sensation or experience; appreciation or cognition. • The term includes both the actor’s knowledge of the actual circumstances and the actor’s erroneous but reasonable belief in the existence of nonexistent circumstances.
2. Roman & civil law. The act of taking into possession (as rents, profits, etc.), esp. by a bona fide possessor or usufructuary. — Also termed (in Roman law) perceptio (p[schwa]r-sep-shee-oh).
