Etymologically
Log in

conceptus

Etymology and origin of the Latin word conceptus

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin (capiō)

Forms

conceptus m (genitive conceptūs); fourth declension[1]

Etymology

It is from concipiō “to take in, conceive” with the suffix of action nouns -tus.[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL dates it from Cicero, and the OLD's earliest citation is from Cicero, of conception.[3][2] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant conceiving in the womb, conception, as in Cicero, in Pliny the Elder of other natural processes and of catching fire, and in Seneca the embryo itself.[2] In Pliny it also meant the storing up of water, a reservoir, as the Tiber navigable after nine days' gathering of water.[2][5][6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a concept, thought, purpose.[7] Medieval Latin used it for physical conception and for a thought, idea.[8] It survives in Italian concetto and Spanish concepto.[1] Medieval Latin conceptum gave English concept in the 1550s.[9]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of conception.[2][4]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of the embryo.[2][4]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of a reservoir.[2][4]
  • 1550s – English concept is recorded.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Conception; an embryo.[2]
  2. The storing up of water; a reservoir.[2]
  3. (Late Latin) A thought, concept.[7][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Conceptus.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/conceptus. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·