conception

Etymology

From Middle English concepcioun, borrowed from Old French conception, from Latin conceptiō (“a comprehending, a collection, composition, an expression, also a becoming pregnant”), from concipiō, past participle conceptus (“conceive”); see conceive.

noun

1. The act of conceiving.
2. The state of being conceived; the beginning.
3. The fertilization of an ovum by a sperm to form a zygote.
4. The start of pregnancy.
5. The formation of a conceptus or an implanted embryo.
6. 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.
7. An image, idea, or notion formed in the mind; a concept, plan or design.
   Elegant brick and stone buildings, with iron and glass canopies and decorative wooden scalloping and fencing—all evidencing care on the part of the architect to produce a pleasing, well-planned building—were submerged beneath a profusion of ill-conceived additions and camouflaged by vulgar paint schemes; and the original conception was lost. 1962 October, Brian Haresnape, “Focus on B.R. passenger stations”, in Modern Railways, pages 250–251