concept English · revision 3067

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1556|origins=la capiō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈkɒn.sept/, US /ˈkɑːn.sept/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|concept]],^(Barnhart 1988) or directly [[der|la-med|conceptum|t=draft, abstract]],^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) Late Latin [[m|la-lat|conceptus|t=thought, draft]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) in classical Latin “a thing conceived; a fetus”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|la|concipere|t=to take in and hold; to become pregnant]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|la|con-]] and [[m|la|capere|t=to take]],^(Etymonline) from [[ine-pro|*kap-|t=to grasp]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[conceive]] and [[conception]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Thought, opinion, frame of mind: 1556,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 1989) in the same senses as [[conceit]].^(OED 1989)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In some 16th-century uses it was a refashioning of ''conceit'', perhaps to avoid the bad connotations that had begun to cling to that word.^(Etymonline) In logic and philosophy, the product of the faculty of conception, a general idea of a class of objects, is from 1663.^(OED 1989) The weakened sense, a general idea or plan, especially in marketing and the media, is from 1956,^(OED 1989) and the American Heritage Dictionary notes that this loose use sounds most at home in entertainment and advertising.^(AHD) Combinations such as ''concept album'' and ''concept car'' are later.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1556 – thought, opinion.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1663 – in logic, a general notion.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1956 – a plan or idea, in marketing.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A general idea derived from particular instances; an abstract [[notion]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Something conceived in the mind; a thought.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A plan or scheme, especially a new idea for a product: ''a new restaurant concept''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[conceptor]]

+ * [[high-concept]]

+ * [[self-concept]]

+ * [[concept art]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[conceive]]

+ * [[conceptual]]

+ * [[misconceive]]

+ * [[misconception]]

+ * [[conception]]

+ * [[conceit]]

+ * [[capture]]

+ * [[accept]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}