Definition of "conception" []

• Formation of a viable zygote by the union of the male sperm and female ovum; fertilization. (noun)
• The entity formed by the union of the male sperm and female ovum; an embryo or zygote. (noun)
• The ability to form or understand mental concepts and abstractions. (noun)
• Something conceived in the mind; a concept, plan, design, idea, or thought. See Synonyms at idea. (noun)
• Archaic A beginning; a start. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "And since the conception of form resolves itself into _motion_, _conception_, _purpose_ or _end_, so the Eternal"
• "This "certain conception" is slowly being fleshed out here."
• "The term conception does not mean the active or generative conception by her parents."