a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. iii. 16 I schall multyply þi myseyseȝ & þi conceyuyngeȝ [a1425 Corpus Oxf. conceyuyngis; L. conceptus].

a1425 (c1340) R. Rolle Comm. on Canticles (Laud) in Psalter (1884) 523 Our lady seynt Mary, aftur..the conceyuyng of goddis sun,..sho rose..in swetnes of hert.

1485 Croniclis of Englonde (St. Albans) iv. sig. fvij The sext moneth from the consauyng [1520 conceyvynge] of Iohn Baptist.

1545 T. Raynald in tr. E. Roesslin Byrth of Mankynde i. sig. E.v The lytell bolke or quantite of the sayd seede at his fyrste conceyuyng into the womans mother.

1645 J. Ussher Body of Divin. (1647) 83 The Father conceiveth of himself, and in himself; and his conceiving is a begetting.

1688 Acct. Reasons of Invitation of Prince of Orange into Eng. 19 Her contrary Stories, of the time of her conceiving.

1783 W. Dease Observ. Midwifery 179 She never menstruated from the time of conceiving.

1845 J. Kitto Cycl. Biblical Lit. II. 61/2 Jacob was the second son of Isaac by his wife Rebekah. Her conceiving is stated to have been supernatural.

1860 T. H. Tanner Signs & Dis. Pregnancy v. 259 If the woman has been perfectly healthy previous to her conceiving.

1933 L. Spier Yuman Tribes ix. 236 On the [dream] experience was based the conceiving of children, oratorical power, curing, bewitching, and shamanistic feats.

1995 A. Howard Silence of Strangers xxvii. 344 The conceiving of the unborn babies had probably taken place on the very same day!

1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 13 For the redier conceiving..behold the figure insuing.

1570 J. Dee in H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. Math. Præf. sig. *ij Led vpward, by degrees..toward the conceiuyng of Numbers.

a1617 S. Hieron Penance for Sinne in Wks. (1620) II. 270 To avile vs in our owne conceyuing.

1653 R. Baxter Right Method Settled Peace Pref. sig. A11^v Mans Understanding is shallow, and all his Conceivings of God are exceeding low.

1678 R. Barclay Apol. for Quakers xiii. 323 What monstrous and wild opinions and conceivings have they invented.

1764 tr. J. P. de Limbourg New Amusem. German Spa I. ix. 145 There is much less difficulty attends the conceiving of its being well known in the days of Pliny.

1829 Monthly Rev. Oct. 172 The conceiving of a new thought.

1865 S. S. Hennell Present Relig. I. iii. 278 The instinctive effort towards the conceiving of human beings as a totality..gives birth to the conception of a Deity.

1917 J. L. Cochrane Safety-first Train 5 The conceiving of the idea of a Government Safety-First Special Train.

1996 J. W. Forrester Being Good & being Logical viii. 131 The closer our conceivings are to reality, the clearer they are.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. xlix. 1 The conceyuende wombe [L. utero].

1569 R. Androse tr. ‘Alessio’ 4th Bk. Secretes iv. 51 Making rolles of Piche annoynt them with this oyntment, and put them into the conceyuing place of the woman.

1592 R. Dallington tr. F. Colonna Hypnerotomachia f. 63 Conceiuing capacitie.

1608 J. Day Humour out of Breath i. i. sig. B3 Such a rabble of prescriptions, As neuer mayd of a Conceiuing spirit, Will follow them.

1693 E. Settle New Athenian Comedy ii. 17 Nothing like spruce and gay and gallant, Best tickles the Conceiving Talent.

1724 J. Maubray Female Physician vii. vi. 369 Not only the conceiving Woman, but also the copulating Man, may effect the same thing.

1796 F. A. Nitsch Gen. View Kant's Princ. conc. Man 130 Necessity implies real conception, determined by the invariable laws of the conceiving faculty.

1817 T. Neale Candid Notices i. 2 Those then who cannot endure significant ceremonies and outward rites in a church, run contrary to God's goodness, who instructs the conceiving mind by the perceiving sense.

1887 T. Hardy Woodlanders I. v. 83 The original dream and vision of the conceiving master-mason.

1959 PMLA 74 37/1 The conceiving faculty, that is, imagination.

2003 Vivarium 41 111 The diversity attributed to God should be considered, more or less, a creation of the conceiving mind.