Etymologically
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conceptum

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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]

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