English
conceive
Conceive comes from Old French concevoir ‘to conceive (an idea)’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kap-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-1root named by Wiktionary
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconcipio1as concipiō‘to devise, to conceive’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400concevoir1‘to conceive (an idea)’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500conceyven1‘to become pregnant’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1606–1607conceive1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English conceive
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra: “We shall, / As I conceive the journey, be…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-Wiktionary, English conceiveroot named by Wiktionary
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconcipioWiktionary, English conceiveas concipiō‘to devise, to conceive’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400concevoirWiktionary, English conceive‘to conceive (an idea)’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500conceyvenWiktionary, English conceive‘to become pregnant’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1606–1607conceiveWiktionary, English conceive. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra: “We shall, / As I conceive the journey, be…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kap-
had, case, head, capital, heavy, cash, captain, catch, except, capacity, behavior, chapter, accept, escape, capable, cable, heavily, chase, capture, achieve, cape, chef, recipe, cattle, cabin, receive, occupation, chapel, capitol, recipient, haven, reception, perception, capita, hawk, behave, anticipate, capsule, anticipation, cater, 176 more
Today it means
verb To have a child; to become pregnant (with).
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “conceive”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kap- / conceive