inception

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in·cep·tion

(ĭn-sĕp′shən)

The beginning of something, such as an undertaking; a commencement. See Synonyms at origin.

[Middle English incepcion, from Latin inceptiō, inceptiōn-, from inceptus, past participle of incipere, to begin, take up : in-, in; see in-² + capere, to take; see kap- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

inception

(ɪnˈsɛpʃən)

the beginning, as of a project or undertaking

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

in•cep•tion

(ɪnˈsɛp ʃən)

n.

beginning; commencement.

[1375–1425; late Middle English incepcion < Latin inceptiō <incep-, variant s. of incipere to take in hand, begin (in- in-² + -cipere, comb. form of capere to take)]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

inception - an event that is a beginning; a first part or stage of subsequent events

origination, origin

beginning - the event consisting of the start of something; "the beginning of the war"

germination - the origin of some development; "the germination of their discontent"

cause - events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something; "they are trying to determine the cause of the crash"

prelude, overture, preliminary - something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows; "training is a necessary preliminary to employment"; "drinks were the overture to dinner"

procession, emanation, rise - (theology) the origination of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost; "the emanation of the Holy Spirit"; "the rising of the Holy Ghost"; "the doctrine of the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son"

inception

noun beginning, start, rise, birth, origin, dawn, outset, initiation, inauguration, commencement, kickoff (informal) Since its inception, the company has produced 53 different designs.
ending, end, finish, conclusion, completion, termination

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

inception

noun

1. The act or process of bringing or being brought into existence:

beginning, commencement, inauguration, incipience, incipiency, initiation, launch, leadoff, opening, origination, start.

Informal: kickoff.

2. The initial stage of a developmental process:

beginning, birth, commencement, dawn, genesis, nascence, nascency, onset, opening, origin, outset, spring, start.

Translations

inizio

inception

[ɪnˈsepʃən] N → comienzo m, principio m
from its inception → desde el comienzo, desde el principio, desde los comienzos

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

inception

[ɪnˈsɛpʃ^ən] n [organization] → création f
at the inception of sth → aux débuts de qch
since its inception → depuis sa création

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

inception

n → Beginn m, → Anfang m; from its inception → von Anbeginn an; at its inception → zu Anbeginn

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

inception

[ɪnˈsɛpʃ/ən] n (frm) → inizio, principio

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

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References in classic literature ?

Its inception and inauguration were above reproach.

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The antiquity of the port appeals to the imagination by the long chain of adventurous enterprises that had their inception in the town and floated out into the world on the waters of the river.

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in four days, and will reach its maximum intensity twenty-seven hours after inception. It is there I will show you the Truth."

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In its inception, now that I look back upon it, this need for alcohol was a mental need, a nerve need, a good- spirits need.

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For its inception was yours, and in your more ambitious days you thought to write the tale of the little white bird yourself.

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To fill up Liberia with an ignorant, inexperienced, half-barbarized race, just escaped from the chains of slavery, would be only to prolong, for ages, the period of struggle and conflict which attends the inception of new enterprises.

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If, at the inception of the race, only Goro and the stars had looked down upon the contestants, such was not the case at its finish, since from an embrasure near the summit of the wall two close-set black eyes peered down upon the two.

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The response of his antagonist, while equally prompt in the inception, was made with a slow, uniform, mechanical and, I thought, somewhat theatrical movement of the arm, that was a sore trial to my patience.

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No matter how revolutionary and anarchist in inception, there would be fools enough to give such an outrage the character of a religious manifestation.

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Exactly what the parties have already done they shall do again; but that which we inferred from their nature and inception, they will not do.

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For a few moments they spoke of the opera, of the topics that were then occupying the attention of Paris, of the pleasure of renewing their brief acquaintance which had had its inception under such odd circumstances, and this brought them to the subject that was uppermost in the minds of both.

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For this gathering, the Zoological Hall which had been the scene of the inception of our task was found to be far too small, and it was only in the Queen's Hall in Regent Street that accommodation could be found.