inchoate

[ in-koh-it, -eytor, especially British, 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.

inchoate

/ ɪnˈkəʊətɪv /

adjective

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

verb

1. to begin

Derived Forms

• inˈchoateness, noun
• ˌinchoˈation, noun
• inˈchoately, adverb
• inchoative, adjective

Other Words From

• in·choate·ly adverb
• in·choate·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of inchoate¹

1525–35; < Latin inchoātus, variant of incohātus, past participle of incohāre “to begin, start work on,” perhaps equivalent to in- in- ²( def ) + coh(um) “hollow of a yoke into which the pole is fitted” + -ātus -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of inchoate¹

C16: from Latin incohāre to make a beginning, literally: to hitch up, from in- ² + cohum yokestrap