"a general notion, the immediate object of a thought," 1550s, from Medieval Latin conceptum "draft, abstract," in classical Latin "(a thing) conceived," from concep-, past-participle stem of concipere "to take in and hold; become pregnant," from con-, here probably an intensive prefix (see con-), + combining form of capere "to take," from PIE root *kap- "to grasp." In some 16c. cases a refashioning of conceit (perhaps to avoid negative connotations that had begun to cling to that word).
