Incept
/ɪnˈsɛpt/noun
To begin or start something; also, in older legal usage, to take up or receive a degree or office.
Did you know?The root behind *incept* is Latin *capere* (“to take”), the same force behind words like *capture* and *captive*—language has been turning “taking” into meaning for centuries.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kap-
“to take, seize”
Latin
Latin
capere
“to take, seize, capture”
Latin
Latin
incipere
“to take in, begin”
Old French
Old French
incepter
“to begin, start”
Middle English
English
incepten
“to begin; to receive a degree or office”
Modern English
English
incept
“to begin or start”