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inchoate

 - 4 dictionary results

in·cho·ate

   [in-koh-it, -eyt or, especially Brit., in-koh-eyt]
–adjective
1.
not yet completed or fully developed; rudimentary.
2.
just begun; incipient.
3.
not organized; lacking order: an inchoate mass of ideas on the subject.
Use inchoate in a Sentence
Origin:
1525–35; < L inchoātus, var. of incohātus ptp. of incohāre to begin, start work on, perh. equiv. to in- -in-2 + coh(um) hollow of a yoke into which the pole is fitted + -ātus -ate1

—Related forms
in·cho·ate·ly, adverb
in·cho·ate·ness, noun

—Can be confused: inchoate, innate (see synonym note at innate).
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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World English Dictionary
inchoate
 
—adj
1.  just beginning; incipient
2.  undeveloped; immature; rudimentary
3.  (of a legal document, promissory note, etc) in an uncompleted state; not yet made specific or valid
 
—vb
4.  to begin
 
[C16: from Latin incohāre to make a beginning, literally: to hitch up, from in-² + cohum yokestrap]
 
in'choately
 
—adv
 
in'choateness
 
—n
 
incho'ation
 
—n
 
inchoative
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Word Origin & History

inchoate
1534, from L. inchoatus, pp. of inchoare, alteration of incohare "to begin," originally "to hitch up," from in- "on" + cohum "strap fastened to the oxen's yoke."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: in·cho·ate
Pronunciation: in-'kO-&t, 'i[ng]-kO-"At
Function: adjective
1 a : not yet made complete, certain, or specific : not perfected —see also inchoate lien at LIEN b : not yet transformed into actual use or possession inchoate right —Peterson v. Fire & Police Pension Ass'n, 759 Pacific Reporter, Second Series 720 (1988)>
2 : of or relating to a crime (as attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy) which consists of acts that are preliminary to another crime and that are in themselves criminal —compare CHOATE
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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