Words of the Month - Ception

         This month I’m looking at the wide variety of words that end in -ception.  That’s not a root that means anything by itself in English, and it’s hard to see a common thread in the meanings of the various words that use it: reception, deception, exception, interception, conception, perception, contraception, inception…  What’s going on here?  The Latin root of -ception comes ultimately from capare, meaning “to take, seize.”  So let’s have a look at how that root manages to yield us such a wide range of meanings.

        Interception is relatively easy to see: it’s seizing something between the two ends of its path, as when a ball is caught between the throw and the intended target.  So far, so good.

        Perception isn’t too bad, either.  Its roots literally mean “to grab something entirely,” and the idea of grasping ideas is a pretty straightforward metaphor.  If you get it, then of course you’ve grasped it!

        Conception is a similar metaphor when used to refer to ideas: holding something with your mind.  But the pregnancy meaning came first, with the idea of the embryo being held in the womb.  The metaphor suggested the idea of your brain becoming pregnant with a new thought.  Interestingly, contraception was coined in 1886 by replacing the con- of conception with contra- meaning “against.”  So unlike today’s other words, it didn’t really derive from Latin or from a time when the -ception root actually still had its Latin meaning.

        Deception can also be explained with an all-English synonym that makes use of the same root meaning: taking in.  Even back in Latin the literal meaning of seizing something in a trap or snare was joined by the metaphorical meaning of tricking or cheating.

        Exception, as you can guess when you think about the prefix ex-, means taking something out of a group or category, or out of the scope of a rule. 

        Reception has an overlay of recent meanings, but to see its connection to the Latin root it’s easier to look at the verb form receive.  That clearly has to do with taking possession of something, although the re- prefix is unclear, since in this case it doesn’t mean doing anything again.  Interestingly, the noun form first entered English with an astrological meaning, but soon enough meant “the act of taking possession of something.”  From there it added the idea of taking a person into a place, company, etc, and from there the word was given to the ceremonial gathering in which people are taken into company.  And in the twentieth century we also begin to seize radio and later television signals right out of the ether.

        Inception is a beginning, which doesn’t seem to have much logical connection to catching anything, but I will remind you that you could just as well speak of a new undertaking, which has take right there in it, just as inception has seize right there in it.  We also have phrases such as “I’ll take it up,” or “I’ll take it in hand.”  Clearly we do resonate with some idea of grabbing hold of an endeavor in order to begin it.

[Picture: Circle of Angels, rubber block print by AEGN, 2007 (sold out).]