CONCEPTION
conception
(noun) the act of becoming pregnant; fertilization of an ovum by a spermatozoon
invention, innovation, excogitation, conception, design
(noun) the creation of something in the mind
concept, conception, construct
(noun) an abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instances
creation, conception
(noun) the event that occurred at the beginning of something; “from its creation the plan was doomed to failure”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
conception (countable and uncountable, plural conceptions)
The act of conceiving.
The state of being conceived; the beginning.
The fertilization of an ovum by a sperm to form a zygote.
The start of pregnancy.
The formation of a conceptus or an implanted embryo.
The power or faculty of apprehending of forming an idea in the mind; the power of recalling a past sensation or perception; the ability to form mental abstractions.
An image, idea, or notion formed in the mind; a concept, plan or design.
Antonyms
• misconception
Coordinate terms
• inception
Source: Wiktionary
Con*cep"tion, n. Etym: [F. conception, L. conceptio, fr. concipere to
conceive. See Conceive.]
1. The act of conceiving in the womb; the initiation of an embryonic
animal life.
I will greaty multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. Gen. iii. 16.
2. The state of being conceived; beginning.
Joy had the like conception in our eyes. Shak.
3. The power or faculty of apprehending of forming an idea in the
mind; the power of recalling a past sensation or perception.
Under the article of conception, I shall confine myself to that
faculty whose province it is to enable us to form a notion of our
past sensations, or of the objects of sense that we have formerly
perceived. Stewart.
4. The formation in the mind of an image, idea, or notion,
apprehension.
Conception consists in a conscious act of the understanding, bringing
any given object or impression into the same class with any number of
other objects or impression, by means of some character or characters
common to them all. Coleridge.
5. The image, idea, or notion of any action or thing which is formed
in the mind; a concept; a notion; a universal; the product of a
rational belief or judgment. See Concept.
He [Herodotus] says that the sun draws or attracts the water; a
metaphorical term obviously intended to denote some more general and
abstract conception than that of the visible operation which the word
primarily signifies. Whewell.
6. Idea; purpose; design.
Note this dangerous conception. Shak.
7. Conceit; affected sentiment or thought. [Obs.]
He . . . is full of conceptions, points of epigram, and witticism.
Dryden.
Syn.
– Idea; notion; perception; apprehemsion; comprehension.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition