conceive

verb

Etymology: From Middle English conceyven, from Old French concevoir, conceveir, from Latin concipiō, concipere (“to devise, to conceive”).

1. To have a child; to become pregnant (with).

   “Assisted procreation can help those trying to conceive.”

   “She hath also conceived a son in her old age.”

2. To develop; to form in the mind; to imagine.

   “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.”

   “At the mouth of the cave we found a single litter with six bearers, all of them mutes, waiting, and with them I was relieved to see our old friend Billali, for whom I had conceived a sort of affection.”

3. To imagine (as); to have a conception of; to form a representation of.

   “Can you conceive of him as a leader?”

   “We shall, / As I conceive the journey, be at the Mount / Before you, Lepidus.”

4. To understand (someone).

   “I conceive you.”