concept

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: con=cept

CIDE DICTIONARY

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

 An abstract general conception; a notion; a universal.  [1913 Webster]
"The words conception, concept, notion, should be limited to the thought of what can not be represented in the imagination; as, the thought suggested by a general term."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

concept, n.
1 a general notion; an abstract idea (the concept of evolution).
2 colloq. an idea or invention to help sell or publicize a commodity (a new concept in swimwear).
3 Philos. an idea or mental picture of a group or class of objects formed by combining all their aspects.

Etymology

LL conceptus f. concept-: see conceive

THESAURUS

concept

Vorstellung, apprehension, assumption, attitude, climate of opinion, common belief, community sentiment, conceit, conception, conceptualization, conclusion, consensus gentium, consideration, eidetic image, envisaging, envisioning, estimate, estimation, ethos, eye, fancy, feeling, general belief, idea, image, imagery, imagery study, imaging, imagism, imagistic poetry, imago, impression, intellection, intellectual object, judgment, lifelike image, lights, memory-trace, mental image, mental impression, mental picture, mental representation, mind, mystique, notion, objectification, observation, opinion, perception, personal judgment, picture, picturing, poetic imagery, point of view, popular belief, position, posture, presumption, prevailing belief, public belief, public opinion, reaction, recept, reflection, representation, sentiment, sight, stance, supposition, theory, thinking, thought, view, vision, visual image, visualization, way of thinking, word-painting