conceptum

Forms

conceptum n (genitive conceptī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is the neuter of conceptus, the perfect participle of concipiō (“to take in; to conceive”), used as a noun.^[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's first example is in Pliny the Elder, of the foetus of a hare taken from the womb.^[1]

Semantic evolution

It meant what has been conceived, the foetus, also in Suetonius and in Scribonius Largus' medical recipes.^[1][2] Quintilian has mente concepta, things conceived in the mind, ideas;^[1] Frontinus uses it for the measured capacities recorded in the official registers of the aqueducts.^[1]

In Medieval Latin it could mean a draft or abstract,^[3] and records continue into the 13th century.^[4] English concept (1550s) comes from it.^[3]

Timeline

• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of a foetus.^[1][4]
• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian speaks of mente concepta, ideas.^[1][4]
• c. 100 AD – Frontinus uses it of measured capacities.^[1][4]
• 1271 – Found in a charter.^[4]
• 1550s – Borrowed into English as concept.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. That which is conceived, a foetus.^[1][2]
2. (in the plural, mente concepta) Mental conceptions, ideas.^[1]
3. A measured capacity or volume.^[1]
4. (Medieval Latin) A draft, abstract.^[3]

Related words

• English concept

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de