Inception

How to spell inception

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce inception

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does inception mean?

1. nounThe start or beginning of something, especially an organisation, project, or process.

Inception in a sentence

• The charity has supported local families since its inception.

• The company has grown rapidly from its inception in a small garage.

Where does inception come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Inception traces back to the Latin verb incipere, meaning 'to begin' or 'to take in hand', formed from the prefix in- ('into') and capere ('to take' or 'to seize'). The literal idea was of taking something up and setting it in motion, which neatly captures the sense of a beginning. From incipere came the noun inceptio, meaning 'a beginning' or 'undertaking', and English borrowed the word in the early 1400s, partly through French. The shared capere root links inception to a whole family of familiar words, including capture, receive, accept, and concept, all of which involve some form of taking. That cept spelling, rather than 'sept', is the chief trap, and remembering the 'take' root in capture helps fix it.

How the word is built

• in- (in/into)
• cept (from capere: to take)
• -ion (noun-forming suffix)