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Today it means

concept

an abstract idea or general notion formed in the mind

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Where does the word "concept" come from? It comes from Latin concipere, and was adopted directly into English (1550s).

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Where does the word "concept" come from? It comes from Latin concipere, and was adopted directly into English (1550s).

Concept’s story begins in Latin: concipere meant “to take together, to conceive.” To take together, to conceive, from com- (together) and capere (to take). It reached English by 1550s as concept. Settled as the English word for an abstract idea. Today, concept means an abstract idea or general notion formed in the mind.

  1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient concipere "to take together, to conceive", to take together, to conceive, from com- (together) and capere (to take).
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1550s concept "an abstract idea or general notion", settled as the English word for an abstract idea.

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