conceive, v.
(kənˈsiːv)
Forms: 3–4 conseiue, -saiue, (3 ? -ciue), 3–6 -ceue, 3–7 -ceiue, -ceyue, 4 -sayfe, -saywe, (Sc.) -saf, 4–5 -seyue, -sayue, 4–6 -saue, 5 -cayue, -sawe, 6–7 -ceaue, 7 -ceave, 7– conceive.
[a. OF. concev-eir, -oir, (stressed stem conˈceiv-):—L. concipĕre, f. con- altogether + capĕre to take. The F. form of the word is assimilated to verbs in -ēre, while other Romanic langs. have -ĕre, -īre: cf. Pr. concebre, Sp. concebir, It. concépere and -cepére. Nearly all the senses found in Fr. and Eng. were already developed in L., where the primary notion was app. ‘to take effectively, take to oneself, take in and hold’. The development is thus partly parallel to that of catch (esp. in branches VII, VIII), which word may be substituted for conceive in some uses.]
I. To conceive seed or offspring: with extensions of this sense.
1. trans. Of a female: To receive (seed) in the womb; to become pregnant with (young).
(Cf. catch v. 29–32, and quot. under conceit n. 10.)
| a 1300 Cursor M. 20822 (Cott.) Þis leuedi..Conceiued thoru þe hali gast Þat blisful child. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xv. 66 Scho was chosen..for to consayfe Ihesu Criste and for to bere him. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 36 b, Suche a woman shall conceyue a man chylde at suche a tyme. 1545 T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde 14 When the seede is conceauyd in at this gate or porte. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado i. i. 240 That a woman conceiued me, I thanke her: that she brought mee vp, I likewise giue her most humble thankes. 1611 Bible Heb. xi. 11 Through faith also Sara her selfe receiued strength to conceiue seede. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 766 My womb conceiv'd A growing burden. 1709 Steele & Add. Tatler No. 90 ¶2 She conceived a Child by him. 1880 Muirhead tr. Gaius i. §64 Those [children] whom a woman has conceived in promiscuous intercourse. |
b. pass. To be created or formed in the womb; to be engendered. (Sometimes not regarded as the action of the mother, esp. in expressions originating in the Eng. version of the Creed.)
| a 1300 Cursor M. 24976 (Gött.), I trou..in iesu crist..conseiued of þe hali gast, born of þe uirgine mari. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 446 He was consayved synfully Within his awen moder body. c 1400 Destr. Troy 12758 Agamynon..hade a gay sone, Consayuit of Clunestra. c 1485 Digby Myst. (1882) iii. 1759 Þe chyld..wyche was conseyvyd on me be ryht! 1509 Paternoster, etc. A iij, Ihesu cryste his oonly sone..the whiche is conceyued of the holy goost, borne of Mary the mayde. 1607 Topsell Serpents (1653) 740 The female bringeth forth Egges, which she committeth to the earth..The young ones are conceived of themselves by the help of the Sun. 1860 Hook Lives Abps. I. ii. 57 He preached the Lord Jesus Christ, who..was conceived by the Holy Ghost. |
† c. loosely. To cause to be conceived, to beget.
| 1642 Rogers Naaman 439 Whom God hath by his Spirit conceived in the wombe of the Church. |
2. intr. To become pregnant.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 10878 (Cott.) Womman þat neuer neghed man, Conceiue hu sal sco? Ibid. 10897 (Gött.) Scho has conceyuyd of hir husband. c 1325 Metr. Hom. 72 Ar scho had talde thurght whatkyne chaunce Scho consaywed, and thurgh whame. 1382 Wyclif Luke i. 31 Thou schalt conseyue in the wombe, and schalt bere a sone. c 1460 Emare 479 The lady..Conceyved and wente with chylde. 1611 Bible Gen. xxx. 38 And the flockes conceiued before the rods. 1654 R. Codrington tr. Hist. Ivstine 241 Laodice..did seem in her sleep to have conceived with child by Apollo. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Conceive, to be with Child, or to breed. 1785 Anat. Dial. (ed. 2) 354 The embryo is a name given to what a woman has conceived with. 1834 Good Study Med. (ed. 4) II. 551 If she conceive again. |
† 3. pass. To be made pregnant; to become or be pregnant, or with child. Obs.
| 1475 Caxton Jason 64 b, Many of them were conceyued with their seed. 1563–87 Foxe A. & M. (1596) 1341/1 The Queene was conceived and quicke with child. 1584 R. Scot Discov. Witchcr. x. ii. 143 With Marie his wife, after she was conceived by the Holie-ghost. 1594 Marlowe, etc. Dido i. 106 Till that a princess-priest, Conceiv'd by Mars, Shall yield to dignity a double birth. 1646 E. Fisher Mod. Divinity (ed. 2) 152 A woman that is conceived with childe must not suffer death because of the childe that is within her. |
| fig. 1594 Marlowe, etc. Dido i. 125 Had not the heauens, conceived with hell-born clouds, Veiled his..glory. |
4. fig. In the following there is perh. conscious reference to senses 2 and 1 b ‘to be engendered, bred’, respectively.
| 1393 Gower Conf. II. 87 This minerall [philosopher's stone] Transformeth all the firste kinde, And maketh hem able to conceive Through his vertue, and receive..Of golde and silver the nature. Ibid. III. 106 The state of realmes and of kinges In time of pees, in time of werre, It is conceived of the sterre. |
† 5. transf. To take on (any state or condition: e.g. fire, moisture, disease, putrefaction, or the like). Sometimes the notion appears to have been ‘catch’, from without, sometimes ‘breed’ within; but frequently both may have been present. Obs. Cf. catch v. 33, 34, 44.
| 1393 Gower Conf. I. 250 Wherof his lord..A siknesse..Conceived hath of dedly sorwe. 1587 Golding De Mornay v. 51 The Plant conceiueth moisture in itself, which springeth foorth into bud, from bud into flower, and from flower into fruit. 1621 G. Hakewill David's Vow 119 They are..composed of flax or tinder, apt to conceiue fire. a 1656 Hales Gold. Rem. (1688) 362 Having made a mixture of nitre and sulphur, by chance it conceived fire and went off with incredible celerity and noise. 1684 tr. Bonet's Merc. Compit. vi. 235 Meats of herbs and fruits quickly conceive putrefaction. 1695 tr. Colbatch's New Lt. Chirurg. put out 63 Dipping your Finger in it [Spirit], and touching it with the Flame of a Candle..it immediately conceives Flame. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters I. 84 The lightest waters most readily conceive igneous motion. |
II. To take into, or form in, the mind.
6. To take or admit into the mind; to become affected or possessed with. Still used with permanent states, e.g. prejudice, liking, dislike; with temporary states, as sorrow, joy, obs. or arch. (Cf. catch v. 32.)
Sometimes the notion of breed appears to be present.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter vii. 15 He hais consayued sorow. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 19 Lyf in this worlde is so shorte that ther ought none conceyue hate nor wil harme to other. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 307 By the reports that I heere of you, I conceive good hope of your doings. 1596 T. Danett tr. Comines 357 The naturall griefe that women vse to conceiue in such cases. 1660 Bp. Hall's Rem. Wks., Life 3 Whereat she began to conceive an unspeakable joy. 1754 Sherlock Disc. (1759) I. iii. 129 The Prejudices which Men are apt to conceive against the Gospel. 1802 M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. i. 5 He had conceived a dislike..for this lady. 1871 Smiles Charac. iii. (1876) 68 One of the bigger boys..conceiving a friendship for Martyn. 1890 Dict. Nat. Biog. XXIV. 149 Romney..almost at once conceived for her a passion of the best and purest kind. |
† b. To form and entertain (an opinion). Obs.
| c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 358 We wolen seie opinli þe sentence þat we conseyven. 1577 Hanmer Anc. Eccl. Hist. (1619) 383 The..singular opinion of godlines they conceived of him. 1586 Thynne in Holinshed. II. 457/2 The opinion which I conceiue of some of the Scotish writers. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. i. xii. 54 Of whom they have once conceived a good opinion. |
7. To form (a purpose, design, etc.) in the mind; to plan, devise, formulate in idea.
| 1340 Ayenb. 58 Þet hi myȝten his [= them]..uram þe guode þet hi habeþ y-conceyued wyþdraȝe. 1375 Barbour Bruce xx. 186 The hert..Quhar-in consauit wes that entent. 1382 Wyclif Isa. lix. 13 Wee conceyueden, and speeken of herte wrdys of lesing. 1534 Tindale Acts. v. 4 How is it that thou hast conceaved this thinge in thyne herte? 1628 Hobbes Thucyd. (1822) 79 Neither side conceived small matters but put their whole strength to the war. 1781 Cowper Expost. 318 He first conceives, then perfects his design. 1883 Froude Short Stud. IV. i. x. 111 Orders were certainly conceived which were to be sent to the archbishop. |
b. To form or evolve the idea of (any creation of skill or genius). Cf. conception.
| 1596 Harington Metam. Ajax Pref. (1814) 6 Draught or plot thereof to be well conceived. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 339 ¶9 The Thought of the Golden Compasses [Milton P.L. vii. 225] is conceived altogether in Homer's Spirit. 1794 Sullivan View Nat. I, His system, though ill conceived and worse arranged. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 4 The mind which conceived the Republic. |
8. To form a mental representation or idea of; to form or have a conception or notion of; to think of, imagine. a. with simple obj.
| c 1340 Hampole Prose Tr. 3 Nane swa swete joye may be consayuede. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxxiv. 156 Many men trowez noȝt bot þat at þai see..or þat þai may consayue with þaire awen kyndely wittes. 1529 More Heresyes i. Wks. 117/2 Wordes..be but ymages representing the things that the writer or speaker conceiueth in his minde. 1592 Davies Immort. Soul xxx, So when we God and Angels do conceive, And think of Truth. 1665 Glanvill Sceps. Sci. xiii. 71 When we would conceive a material object, our phancies present us with it's Idæa. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 627 All monstrous, all prodigious things..worse Then Fables yet have feign'd, or fear conceiv'd. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xv, It is easier to conceive than describe the complicated sensations, etc. 1865 Tylor Early Hist. Man. iv. 66 The deaf-mute seems to conceive general ideas. 1888 Jewish Q. Rev. I. 55 The Rabbis could not conceive such a monstrosity as atheistic orthodoxy. |
b. with obj. clause, or inf. compl.
| 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 6857 If he myght right consayve in mynde, How grysely a devel es. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 129 He can not pryse nor conceyue what good thou doost to hym. 1578 Thynne Let. in Animadv. (1865) Introd. 58, I cold not conceve wherefore the same was spooken. 1660 Barrow Euclid i. xxxv. Schol., If the side AB..be conceived to be carried along perpendicularly thro' the whole line BC. 1710 Addison Whig Exam. i. (Seager), As for the Nile, how Icarus and Phaeton came to be joined with it, I cannot conceive. 1875 H. Spencer First Princ. i. iii. §19. 62 It may be said, ‘though we cannot directly know consciousness to be finite in duration..yet we can very well conceive it to be so’. |
c. absol. or intr.
| 1725 Watts Logic iii. iv. (1736) 327 This Habit of conceiving clearly, of judging justly, and of reasoning well. 1785 Reid Int. Powers i. i, Conceiving, imagining and apprehending are commonly used as synonymous. |
d. intr. to conceive of: To form or have a conception of, think of, imagine.
| 1606 Bp. Hall Recoll. Treat. (1614) 73 Friends..we conceive of them as others from our selves: But children we think of..as..peeces of our own bodies. 1623 Bingham Xenophon 49 If any other man..conceiue of a better course, let him speake. 1678 Bunyan Pilgr. i. 7 I can better conceive of them with my Mind, then speak of them with my Tongue. 1834 H. Martineau Moral ii. 72 It is scarcely possible to conceive of an arrangement more apt. 1871 Ruskin Munera P. Pref. (1880) 10 He cannot conceive of any quality of essential badness or goodness existing in pictures. 1881 Mallock Romance 19th Cent. i. ii, She cannot patiently conceive of you as in relation to anything excepting herself. |
9. To grasp with the mind, ‘take in’; to apprehend, understand, comprehend. Cf. catch v. 35. a. a thing. arch.
| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. ix. 48, I haue no kynde knowyng, quod I, to conceyue þi wordes. c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 7046, I conceyve youre entent. 1509 Fisher Fun. Serm. C'tess Richmond Wks. 292 A redy wytte she had also to conceyue all thynges, etc. 1597 Morley Introd. Mus. 3 You haue..well conceiued my meaning. 1660 Bp. Hall's Rem. Wks., Life 40 The drift whereof, being not well conceived by some spirits. 1755 B. Martin Mag. Arts & Sc. i. ii. 121 All this I conceive perfectly well. |
† b. with obj. clause. Obs.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 145 Whan Richard had conceyued þat Philip þerto stode. 1460 J. Capgrave Chron. 202 The kyng, conseyvyng weel that the Scottis were evir ontrewe. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. v. 65 Therefore you easily conceive, that 3 pounds have but three quarters of the Metal. 1808 J. Webster Nat. Phil. 134 It is conceived that bodies differently electrified will readily approach. |
c. To understand, take the meaning of (a person).
| 1596 Spenser State Irel. Wks. (Globe) 666/2, I doe now conceave you. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. i. i. 250 Nay conceiue me, conceiue mee, (sweet Coz). 1633 G. Herbert Temple, Ch. Porch lxxii, Judge not the preacher..If thou mislike him, thou conceiv'st him not. 1744 Harris Three Treat. iii. i. (1765) 159 Explain your Question, for I do not well Conceive you. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 399 You have quite conceived me. |
† d. absol. Obs.
| 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, ii. ii. 124. 1605 Bp. Hall Medit. & Vows ii. §15 In the Schoole of nature, we must conceive, and then beleeve: In the Schoole of God, wee must first beleeve, and then wee shall conceive. 1610 Shakes. Temp. iv. i. 50 P. Doe not approach Till thou do'st heare me call. Ar. Well: I conceiue. |
† 10. To perceive (by the senses), observe. Obs. rare. Cf. catch v. 35.
| c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 1742 Lucrece, Tarquinius..Conseyvede hath hire beute & hyre cheere. c 1400 Destr. Troy 1230 Þe king consayuit his come. c 1450 Castle Hd. Life St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 1981 Cuthbert consayued his countenance. |
11. To take into one's head, form an opinion, be of opinion; to fancy, imagine, think: also used as a modest way of expressing one's opinion, or a depreciative way of characterizing the opinion of another. a. with subord. clause (stating what is thought).
| c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 29 Þei conseyveden þat bi þis shulde Crist fully hele hym. 1455 Duchess of Norfolk in Paston Lett. I. 337 Wherein we conceyve your good will and diligence shal be right expedient. 1587 Let. in Lansd. MS. 115, Art. 93 Wee conceave here wilbe travayle. 1659 Hammond On Ps. Pref., Those that conceive that it was a new hymne of Christ's effusion. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §190, I conceived it might probably be of some use. 1859 Mill Liberty v. (1865) 57/1 He ought, I conceive, to be..warned of the danger. |
b. with obj. and inf. (or equivalent) compl.: To imagine, think (a thing to be so and so).
| 1641 Hinde J. Bruen iv. 14 A speciall cause hereof I conceive to be this. 1647 Sprigge Anglia Rediv. i. iv. (1854) 23 The army..did not conceive themselves secure. 1751 Johnson Rambl. No. 141 ¶7 He that hopes to be conceived as a wit in female assemblies. 1779 Sheridan Critic i. ii, I dare say, now, you conceive half the very civil paragraphs..you see to be written by the parties concerned. 1785 Reid Intell. Powers i. i, When we would express our opinion modestly, instead of saying ‘This is my opinion’ or ‘This is my judgment’..we say ‘I conceive it to be thus’. 1807 Pike Sources Mississ. i. App. 57 Under whose special protection they conceive themselves to be. Ibid. iii. App. 54, I conceived it most proper to comply with the demand. 1871 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) IV. xviii. 187 The great warrior, who is thus conceived as being absent from England. |
† c. with inf. alone, by ellipsis of refl. pron.
| a 1661 Fuller Worthies (1840) III. 327 He conceived by such helps to have added to his vigorous vivacity. 1708 Swift Sacram. Test Wks. 1755 II. i. 137 The dangers he conceives to foresee. |
d. with simple obj. (Usually by abbreviation.)
| 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxv. §15 What the greatest part of men is commonly prone to conceive. 1647 H. More Song of Soul i. iii. xxxii, To shaken off the bonds of prejudice, Nor dote too much of that we have first conceiven. 1660 T. Willsford Scales Commerce 182 Having fortified those best where he conceived most danger of being stormed. |
† e. intr. to conceive well, ill, etc. of: to form a good, bad, or other opinion of. Obs.
| 1576 Fleming Panop. Epist. 44 In whome..I reposed such hope..and beganne also to conceive of him as well as heart could thinke. 1582 T. Watson Pass. Cent. Love Ep. Ded. (Arb.) 26 Of whome long since they had conceiued well. 1605 Camden Rem. (1637) 174 Neither let any conceive offensively if they are not here remembred. 1649 Selden Laws Eng. i. xl. (1739) 61, I am the rather induced to conceive charitably of those times. 1679 Penn Addr. Prot. ii. iv. (1692) 122 Those..conceive well of those Moral good things. |
III. In various senses, mostly after Latin.
† 12. To take in, comprise, comprehend. Obs.
| c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 442 Þis preyere..conceves alle þe gode þat a man shulde aske of God. a 1400–50 Alexander 1837 A lettre clenly enclosyt þat consaued þees wordes. 1481 Caxton Myrr. i. i. 7 God..may alle and conceyueth alle. 1530 Palsgr. 299 Note that the masculyn gender conceyveth the femynine in this tonge lyke as it dothe in the latyn, as..Il paia en maniere de tribut cent thoreaux et cent vaches blancz. 1541 Act 33 Hen. VIII, c. 39 Hereditamentes, which..shalbe conceiued and specified in any..bailiffes accompte. 1571 Digges Pantom. iv. xxv. Hh j, This solide..conceiueth two internall spheres. |
† 13. To institute (an action at law). Obs. [L. concipere actionem.] Obs.
| 1467 Ord. Worcester in Eng. Gilds 382 An accion of dette..to be conceyved after the custom of the seid cite. 1485 Act 1 Hen. VII, c. 1 (Ruffhead), If the same action had been conceived against them. 1574 tr. Littleton's Tenures 40 a, This shall bee tryed in the shire wheare the playntyefe hathe conceyved hys action. |
14. To formulate, express in words or other form; to couch. [Cf. L. concipere aliquid verbis.]
| 1560 in Lodge Illust. Brit. Hist. (1791) I. 334 Receaving from them the articles wch they said they wolde conceave. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 7 Her oath was for the more assurance conceived into writing. 1614 Selden Titles Honor 11 Out of diuers inscriptions conceiued Deae Syriae and Dis Syris. 1709 Strype Annals ii. 56 They exhibited their articles conceived in the former session. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. III. lvii. 403 His answer was conceived in the tone of insult and defiance. 1844 Ld. Brougham Brit. Const. xix. §1 (1862) 303 The laws..shall be conceived in terms plain, intelligible, and consistent. |
† b. (with mixture of 7.) To form and utter spontaneously (a prayer). Obs. (See conceived 2 b.)
| 1593 R. Bancroft Daung. Posit. iii. v. 81 The moderator..conceiueth another praier. 1614 Bp. Hall Recoll. Treat. 772 Why is it more Idolatry..to worship God..by a prayer read or got by heart than by a praier conceived? |
† 15. To take (an oath). [L. jusjurandum concipere.] Obs.—1
| 1581 Lambarde Eiren. i. x. (1602) 49 To appoint meet formes of religious attestations (or Oathes) for such Officers to take and conceiue. |
† 16. refl. ? To comport oneself. Obs.
| c 1300 K. Alis. 2204 How hent the gentil knyghtis, How they conceyved heom in fyghtis. |