Concepcioun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The forming of a notion or design in the mind ; the union of egg and sperm that begins a pregnancy
2. An idea or plan taking shape in one's thoughts ; the moment a fertilized egg marks the start of pregnancy
3. The origin of a mental design or scheme ; the fertilization of an ovum that initiates gestation

Etymology: In Latin, "concipere" meant to take in, hold, or receive, from "com-" (together) and "capere" (to take). The same root gives English "capture" and "receive," and the sense of taking something in extended to a woman taking in a child, which is where the medical and biological sense of conception began. The noun came through Latin "conceptio" and Old French "concepcion," and the Middle English form "concepcioun" shows the French spelling still adapting to English. Medieval writers used it in its literal bodily sense as well as for the formation of an idea in the mind, and the two senses have run side by side ever since. This Middle English spelling is no longer used. Modern English "conception" keeps the same meaning, but the spelling was regularized over time.