con·cept   (kŏn'sěpt')    n.   A general idea derived or inferred from specific instances or occurrences. Something formed in the mind; a thought or notion. See Synonyms at idea. A scheme; a plan: "began searching for an agency to handle a new restaurant concept" (ADWEEK). [Late Latin conceptus, from Latin, past participle of concipere, to conceive; see conceive.]

Concept

Con"cept\, n. [L. conceptus (cf. neut. conceptum fetus), p. p. of concipere to conceive: cf. F. concept. See Conceit.] An abstract general conception; a notion; a universal.

The words conception, concept, notion, should be limited to the thought of what can not be represented in the imagination; as, the thought suggested by a general term. --Sir W. Hamilton.

concept 

Main Entry: con·cept
Pronunciation: 'kän-"sept
Function: noun
1 : something conceived in the mind
2 : an abstract orgeneric idea generalized from particular instances

concept con·cept (kŏn'sěpt')
n.

1. An abstract idea or notion.
2. An explanatory principle in a scientific system. Also called conception.

concept

in the Analytic school of philosophy, the subject matter of philosophy, which philosophers of the Analytic school hold to be concerned with the salient features of the language in which people speak of concepts at issue. Concepts are thus logical, not mental, entities. A typical instance of the use of concept is in The Concept of Mind (1949) by Gilbert Ryle, an Oxford Analyst, which implies that the purpose of the author is not to investigate matters of fact empirically (i.e., by the methods of psychology) about the mind itself but to investigate its "logical geography." Similarly, investigation of the logical features of discourse about pleasure or duty or remembering is concerned with the concepts of pleasure or duty or memory. To be able to use these linguistic expressions is to apply, or possess, the concepts.

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