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Origin and history of concept

concept(n.)

"a general notion, the immediate object of a thought," 1550s, from Medieval Latin conceptum "draft, abstract," in classical Latin "(a thing) conceived," from concep-, past-participle stem of concipere "to take in and hold; become pregnant," from con-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see con-), + combining form of capere "to take" (from PIE root *kap- "to grasp"). In some 16c. cases a refashioning of conceit, perhaps to avoid negative connotations that had begun to cling to that word.

concept

also from 1550s

Entries linking to concept

conceit(n.)

late 14c., "a thought, a notion, that which is mentally conceived," from conceiven (see conceive) based on analogy of deceit/deceive and receipt/receive. The sense evolved from "something formed in the mind" to "fanciful or witty notion, ingenious thought" (1510s), to "vanity, exaggerated estimate of one's own mental abilities" (c. 1600) through shortening of self-conceit (1580s).

A doublet of concept, it sometimes was spelled conceipt in Middle English. Sometimes the Italian form concetto (plural concetti) was used in English 18c.-19c. for "piece of affected wit;" OED describes it as "a term originally proper to Italian literature."

percept(n.)

"immediate object in perception," 1837, from Latin perceptum "(a thing) perceived," noun use of neuter past participle of percipere "to perceive" (see perceive). Formed on model of concept.

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conception
early 14c., "act of conceiving in the womb," from Old French concepcion (Modern French conception) "conception, grasp, comprehension," from Latin conceptionem (nominative conceptio) "a comprehending, conception," noun of action from past-participle stem of concipere "to take in a
construct
1660s, "put together the parts of in their proper place and order," from Latin constructus, past participle of construere "pile up together, accumulate; build, make, erect," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + struere "to pile up" (from PIE *streu-, extende
entropy
but portentous form: "The entropy of the universe tends toward a maximum," but Clausius did not view entropy as the basic concept...He preferred to express the physical meaning of the second law in terms of the concept of disgregation, another word that...he coined, a concept that never became part of the accepted structure of thermodynamics....
notion
late 14c., nocioun, "a general concept, conception," from Latin notionem (nominative notio) "concept, conception, idea, notice...
idea
late 14c., "archetype, concept of a thing in the mind of God," from Latin idea "Platonic idea, archetype," a word in philosophy...mental image or picture" is from 1610s (the Greek word for it was ennoia, originally "act of thinking"), as is the sense "concept...of something to be done; concept of what ought to be, differing from what is observed."...
imagination
"faculty of the mind which forms and manipulates images," mid-14c., ymaginacion, from Old French imaginacion "concept, mental...
macrocosm
The concept, if not the word, generally is traced to Democritus (5c. B.C.E.). Related: Macrocosmic....
abstraction
c. 1400, "a withdrawal from worldly affairs, asceticism," from Old French abstraction (14c.), from Late Latin abstractionem (nominative abstractio), noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin abstrahere "to drag away, detach, pull away, divert;" also figuratively, from ass
division
late 14c., divisioun, "act of separating into parts, portions, or shares; a part separated or distinguished from the rest; state of being at variance in sentiment or interest," from Old French division and directly from Latin divisionem (nominative divisio), noun of action from p
attribute
late 14c., "assign, bestow," from Latin attributus, past participle of attribuere "assign to, allot, commit, entrust;" figuratively "to attribute, ascribe, impute," from assimilated form of ad "to" (see ad-) + tribuere "assign, give, bestow" (see tribute). Related: Attributed; at

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