prender
/pɾenˈdeɾ/ · B1 · verb
to turn on
🔥💡 From Latin prehendere, to seize, like apprehend: catch a thief, catch fire
English apprehend (to arrest) comes from the same root. Spanish takes the idea of seizing further: fire catches, so prender fuego means to set alight, and then it means to switch on, as in prender la luz, to turn on the light.