Conception

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /kənˈsɛpʃən/

Definitions

1. The act of forming an idea or notion in the mind, or the moment when pregnancy begins
2. The process of creating an idea or belief, as well as the biological initiation of pregnancy representing an unborn child
3. The development of an understanding or theory alongside the beginning of a new life through fertilization

Etymology: The word "conception" carries two meanings that sit close together: forming an idea, and becoming pregnant. Its Latin source, "conceptio," already held both. Its ancestor "concipere" meant "to take in or receive," and it was a compound of "com-" (together) and "capere" (to take), so the sense was of gathering something into oneself. The same physical image of taking something in lies behind both the mind grasping an idea and a body receiving new life. The Latin word "conceptio" meant "a comprehending, a collection, a composition, an expression," as well as "a becoming pregnant." English inherited that range through Old French "conception" and reached Middle English as "concepcioun." The abstract sense of a mental notion was therefore present from the start, not a later extension of the biological one.

Synonyms: idea, notion, concept

Antonyms: misconception, confusion