inchoate

inchoate
adjective Etymology: Latin inchoatus, past participle of inchoare to start work on, perhaps from in- + cohum part of a yoke to which the beam of a plow is fitted Date: 1534 being only partly in existence or operation ; incipient; especially imperfectly formed or formulated ; formless, incoherent <
misty, inchoate suspicions that all is not well with the nation — J. M. Perry
>
inchoately adverbinchoateness noun

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • inchoate — in·cho·ate /in kō ət, iŋ kō ˌāt/ adj 1 a: not yet made complete, certain, or specific: not perfected see also inchoate lien at lien b: not yet transformed into actual use or possession until an emplo …   Law dictionary

  • inchoate — means ‘undeveloped’ or ‘just begun’ and is derived from the Latin word choare ‘to begin’: • It was obviously necessary that we should continue our still inchoate discussion over a drink D. M. Davin, 1975 • She is not allowed to express her real,… …   Modern English usage

  • Inchoate — In cho*ate, a. [L. inchoatus, better incohatus, p. p. of incohare to begin.] Recently, or just, begun; beginning; partially but not fully in existence or operation; existing in its elements; incomplete. {In cho*ate*ly}, adv. [1913 Webster]… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Inchoate — In cho*ate, v. t. To begin. [Obs.] Dr. H. More. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • inchoate — (adj.) 1530s, from L. inchoatus, pp. of inchoare, alteration of incohare to begin, originally to hitch up, from in on (see IN (Cf. in ) (2)) + cohum strap fastened to the oxen s yoke. Related: Inchoative …   Etymology dictionary

  • inchoate — [adj] undeveloped, beginning amorphous, elementary, embryonic, formless, immature, imperfect, inceptive, incipient, just begun, nascent, preliminary, rudimentary, shapeless, unfinished, unformed, unshaped; concepts 485,578,797 Ant. developed,… …   New thesaurus

  • inchoate — ► ADJECTIVE 1) not fully formed or developed; rudimentary. 2) confused or incoherent. DERIVATIVES inchoately adverb. ORIGIN from Latin inchoare, variant of incohare begin …   English terms dictionary

  • inchoate — [in kō′it, in kō′āt΄] adj. [L inchoatus, incohatus, pp. of inchoare, incohare, to begin, orig. rural term “hitch up, harness” < in , in + cohum, the strap from plow beam to yoke < IE base * kagh , to hold, enclose > HEDGE] 1. just begun; …   English World dictionary

  • Inchoate — A state of activity or entitlement that is characterized by partial completion of an intended outcome or status. The notion of inchoate comes into play most often in a legal sense, as it could refer to an inchoate transaction between two parties …   Investment dictionary

  • inchoate — [[t]ɪnko͟ʊɪt[/t]] ADJ If something is inchoate, it is recent or new, and vague or not yet properly developed. [FORMAL] His dreams were senseless and inchoate. ...the inchoate mood of dissatisfaction with all politicians. Syn: incoherent …   English dictionary

  • inchoate —    Probably because of the similarity in spelling to chaotic and in pronunciation to incoherent, people sometimes take the word to mean disorderly or disorganized. In fact it means incipient, undeveloped, just starting. An inchoate enterprise is… …   Dictionary of troublesome word

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