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incept

American  
[in-sept] / ɪnˈsɛpt /

verb (used with object)

  1. to take in; ingest.

incept British  
/ ɪnˈsɛpt /

verb

  1. (of organisms) to ingest (food)

  2. (formerly) to take a master's or doctor's degree at a university

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. botany a rudimentary organ

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • inceptor noun

Etymology

Origin of incept

First recorded in 1560–70; from Latin inceptus, past participle of incipere “to begin, undertake,” equivalent to in- “in” + cep- (combining form of cap- “to take”) + -tus past participle suffix; the sense “to take in” by literal translation of prefix and base; in- 2, captive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.