Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Concept in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels concept as noun. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913noun
Concept

[L. conceptus (cf. neut. conceptum fetus), p. p. of concipere to conceive: cf. F. concept. See Conceit.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordconcept
Part of speechnoun
Historical etymology[L. conceptus (cf. neut. conceptum fetus), p. p. of concipere to conceive: cf. F. concept. See Conceit.]
Selected historical definitionAn abstract general conception; a notion; a universal.
Signed record IDwebster1913-concept-noun-608df874cc2e
Source locatorCIDE.C, paragraph 13496; Gutenberg eBook 661
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 661Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "concept" is labeled noun. Its etymology is recorded as: "[L. conceptus (cf. neut. conceptum fetus), p. p. of concipere to conceive: cf. F. concept. See Conceit.]" The selected historical definition says: "An abstract general conception; a notion; a universal."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

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