conception
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English concepcioun, borrowed from Old French conception, from Latin conceptiō (“a comprehending, a collection, composition, an expression, also a becoming pregnant”), from concipiō, past participle conceptus (“conceive”); see conceive.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
conception (countable and uncountable, plural conceptions)
- The act of conceiving.
- The state of being conceived; the beginning.
- The fertilization of an ovum by a sperm to form a zygote.
- c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene vi:
- Some powers diuine, or els infernall, mixt
Their angry ſeedes at his conception:
For he was neuer ſprong of humaine race,
Since with the ſpirit of his fearefull pride,
He dares so doubtleſly reſolue of rule.
- The start of pregnancy.
- The formation of a conceptus or an implanted embryo.
- The power or faculty of apprehending of forming an idea in the mind; the power of recalling a past sensation or perception; the ability to form mental abstractions.
- An image, idea, or notion formed in the mind; a concept, plan or design.
- 1962 October, Brian Haresnape, “Focus on B.R. passenger stations”, in Modern Railways, pages 250–251:
- Elegant brick and stone buildings, with iron and glass canopies and decorative wooden scalloping and fencing—all evidencing care on the part of the architect to produce a pleasing, well-planned building—were submerged beneath a profusion of ill-conceived additions and camouflaged by vulgar paint schemes; and the original conception was lost.
Antonyms[edit]
Coordinate terms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
initiation of an embryonic animal life
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the power or faculty of apprehending of forming an idea in the mind
an image, idea, or notion formed in the mind — see also concept
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See also[edit]
References[edit]
- “conception”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “conception”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Anagrams[edit]
French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Inherited from Old French conception, concepcion, borrowed from Latin conceptiōnem (“comprehension, understanding”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
conception f (plural conceptions)
- conception (of a child)
- conception (beginning, start)
- ability to understand
- viewpoint; angle
- concept, idea
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- “conception”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Old French[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from Latin conceptio, conceptionem (“comprehension, understanding”).
Noun[edit]
conception f (oblique plural conceptions, nominative singular conception, nominative plural conceptions)
- conception (of a child)
- 1377, Bernard de Gordon, Fleur de lis de medecine (a.k.a. lilium medicine):
- Et sont retenus naturellement comme en concepcion
- And they [menses] are naturally retained in the case of conception
Descendants[edit]
- → Middle English: concepcioun, concepcion, concepciun, concepcyon, consepcioun
- English: conception
- French: conception
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *keh₂p-
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- en:Pregnancy
- en:Sex
- en:Thinking
- French terms inherited from Old French
- French terms derived from Old French
- French terms borrowed from Latin
- French terms derived from Latin
- French 3-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio links
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French feminine nouns
- fr:Pregnancy
- fr:Sex
- fr:Thinking
- Old French terms borrowed from Latin
- Old French terms derived from Latin
- Old French lemmas
- Old French nouns
- Old French feminine nouns
- Old French terms with quotations