Con*ceive" (?), v. t. [imp.
& p. p. Conceived (?); p. pr. & vb.
n. Conceiving.] [OF. conzoivre,
concever, conceveir, F. concevoir, fr. L.
oncipere to take, to conceive; con- + capere
to seize or take. See Capable, and cf. Conception.]
1. To receive into the womb and begin to
breed; to begin the formation of the embryo of.
She hath also conceived a son in her old
age.
Luke i. 36.
2. To form in the mind; to plan; to
devise; to generate; to originate; as, to conceive a
purpose, plan, hope.
It was among the ruins of the Capitol that I first
conceived the idea of a work which has amused and
exercised near twenty years of my life.
Gibbon.
Conceiving and uttering from the heart
words of falsehood.
Is. lix. 13.
3. To apprehend by reason or imagination;
to take into the mind; to know; to imagine; to comprehend; to
understand. "I conceive you." Hawthorne.
O horror, horror, horror! Tongue nor heart
Cannot conceive nor name thee!
Shak.
You will hardly conceive him to have been
bred in the same climate.
Swift.
Syn. -- To apprehend; imagine; suppose; understand;
comprehend; believe; think.
Con*ceive", v. i.
1. To have an embryo or fetus formed in the
womb; to breed; to become pregnant.
A virgin shall conceive, and bear a
son.
Isa. vii. 14.
2. To have a conception, idea, or
opinion; think; -- with of.
Conceive of things clearly and distinctly
in their own natures.
I. Watts.
