con·cep·tion   (kən-sěp'shən)    n.   Formation of a viable zygote by the union of the male sperm and female ovum; fertilization. The entity formed by the union of the male sperm and female ovum; an embryo or zygote. The ability to form or understand mental concepts and abstractions. Something conceived in the mind; a concept, plan, design, idea, or thought. See Synonyms at idea. The ability to form or understand mental concepts and abstractions. Something conceived in the mind; a concept, plan, design, idea, or thought. See Synonyms at idea. Archaic A beginning; a start. [Middle English concepcioun, from Old French conception, from Latin conceptiō, conceptiōn-, from conceptus; see concept.] con·cep'tion·al adj., con·cep'tive adj., con·cep'tive·ly adv.

Conception

Con*cep"tion\, n. [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.

conception

Fertilization; the union of the sperm and ovum to form a zygote. (See reproductive systems.)

Main Entry: con·cep·tion
Pronunciation: k&n-'sep-sh&n
Function: noun
1 a : the process of becoming pregnant involvingfertilization or implantation or both b : EMBRYO, FETUS
2 a : the capacity, function, or process of forming or understanding ideas or abstractions or their symbols b : a general idea

conception con·cep·tion (kən-sěp'shən)
n.

1. The act of forming a general idea or notion.
2. The formation of a viable zygote by the union of a spermatozoon and an ovum; fertilization.
3. See concept.

conception   (kən-sěp'shən)  Pronunciation Key  The formation of a zygote resulting from the union of a sperm and egg cell; fertilization.