Lewis & Short

Parsing inflected forms may not always work as expected. If the following does not give the correct word, try Latin Words or Perseus.

inceptum, i, n., v. incipio fin.

2. inceptus, ūs, m. [incipio], a beginning, undertaking (rare): foedum inceptu, foedum exitu, Liv. praef. 10: magno in omnia inceptu veneram, Sen. Ep. 108, 15: eriles, Val. Fl. 6, 124.

incĭpĭo, cēpi, ceptum, 3 (archaic incepsit inceperit, Paul. ex Fest. p. 107 Müll.), v. a. and n. [in-capio; lit., to seize upon, lay hold of; opp. to desinere; hence, with the accessory idea of action), to begin to do something, to take in hand (syn. incoho; in class. prose, viz. in Cic., only in the tempp. press., while coepi is used in the tempp. perff.); constr. usually with the inf., less freq. absol., with the acc., ab, or adv. of place or time.

  1. I. Act.
          1. (α) With inf.: ut homines mortem vel optare incipiant vel certe timere desistant, Cic. Tusc. 1, 49, 117: huic incipio sententiae diffidere, id. ib. 5, 1, 3: prius quam incipit tinnire, Plaut. As. 2, 4, 42: bella gerere, Cic. N. D. 2, 3, 9: leges neglegere, id. Rep. 1, 43 fin.: queri cum multis incipiunt, id. Verr. 2, 2, 23, § 56: nimis cito diligere, id. Lael. 21, 78: amare aliquem, id. ib. 16, 60: fossas complere, Caes. B. G. 5, 51, 4: rem frumentariam expedire, id. B. C. 1, 54, 4: triplicem aciem ducere, id. ib. 1, 64, 7; 2, 30, 1: cum maturescere frumenta inciperent, id. ib. 6, 29, 4; cf. id. ib. 3, 49, 1: cum primum pabuli copia esse inciperet, id. B. G. 2, 2, 2; cf.: ictus erat, qua crus esse incipit, Ov. M. 6, 255; 8, 474; 15, 256: opes pellere dominatione, Sall. H. 3, 61, 3: si res explicare incipiam, Nep. Pelop. 1: Bessus agere gratias incipit, Curt. 5, 12, 1: cenare, Suet. Aug. 74: promovere scalas, Tac. A. 15, 4 fin.: si dormire incipis ortu luciferi, Juv. 8, 11: male quod mulier facere incepit, nisi id efficere perpetrat, etc. … Si bene facere incepit, etc. (shortly afterward, occeperunt), Plaut. Truc. 2, 5, 12 and 14: satis nequam sum, utpote qui hodie inceperim Amare, id. Rud. 2, 5, 5.
          2. (β) Absol.: ut incipiendi ratio fuerit, ita sit desinendi modus, Cic. Off. 1, 37, 135; cf. Plin. Ep. 9, 4, 1; Sen. Ep. 116: dum incipimus, Quint. 11, 3, 144: dum deliberamus, quando incipiendum sit, incipere jam serum est, id. 12, 6, 3: in incipiendo, etc., id. 11, 1, 6: ac statim sic rex incipit, thus begins (to speak), Sall. J. 109 fin.; cf.: nec sic incipies, ut scriptor cyclicus olim: Fortunam Priami, etc., Hor. A. P. 136: sic incipit, with a foll. direct quotation, id. S. 2, 6, 79; Ov. M. 9, 281; and simply incipit, Hor. S. 1, 9, 21: sapere aude, Incipe, make a beginning, begin, id. Ep. 1, 2, 41; Juv. 4, 34: priusquam incipias, consulto opus est, Sall. C. 1, 6: turpe inceptu est, Ter. Phorm. 2, 4, 16: incipientes atque adhuc teneri (pueri), who are beginning to learn, beginners, Quint. 1, 2, 26: incipiens, id. 2, 5, 18; 2, 6, 5; 8 prooem. § 1; 3; 10, 7, 18: quoties madidum ver incipit, Juv. 9, 52 al.
          3. (γ) With acc. (once in Cic., once in Cæs., v. infra): facinus audax incipit, Plaut. Aul. 3, 4, 1: facinus, Sall. C. 20, 3: pugilatum, Plaut. Capt. 4, 2, 13: iter, id. Cas. 4, 4, 2: aliquid novi negotii, Ter. Phorm. 4, 4, 29: bellum (opp. deponere), Sall. J. 83, 1: tam prava, id. ib. 64, 2: indigna nobis, id. H. 2, 41, 8: opus, Liv. 7, 34, 13: bellum, id. 21, 21, 6; 26, 37, 9; 42, 43, 3: sementem, Verg. G. 1, 230: Maenalios versus, id. E. 8, 21: si id facere non potueris, quod, ut opinio mea fert, ne incipies quidem, Cic. Planc. 19, 48; Quint. 1, 12, 5: iter mihi incepi, Plaut. Cas. 2, 1, 16: tantum incepi operis, id. Men. 2, 3, 80: mandata, Tac. A. 12, 10; 4, 46: auspicia a parricidio, Just. 26, 2 init.: multa, Cat. ap. Gell. 16, 14, 2.
            Pass.: tanta incepta res est, Plaut. Capt. 2, 1, 31: nuptiarum gratia haec sunt ficta atque incepta, Ter. And. 5, 1, 17; 3, 3, 7: si inceptam oppugnationem reliquissent, Caes. B. G. 7, 17, 6: quia dici extremum erat, proelium non inceptum, Sall. J. 21, 2: proelium incipitur, id. ib. 57, 3; 74, 2: saxis proelium incipitur, Tac. H. 5, 17: satis cito incipi victoriam, id. ib. 2, 25; id. A. 2, 5; 2, 76; 12, 67 fin.: iter inceptum celerant, Verg. A. 8, 90: inceptumque decurre laborem, id. G. 2, 39: inceptum frustra summitte furorem, id. A. 12, 832: deus me vetat Inceptos iambos Ad umbilicum adducere, Hor. Epod. 14, 7: in re incipiunda ad defendendam noxiam, Ter. Phorm. 1, 4, 48: in contentionibus aut incipiendis aut finiendis, Quint. 11, 3, 128: a tantis princeps incipiendus erat, Ov. F. 5, 570.
          4. (δ) With ab or an adv. of place or time: a Jove incipiendum putat, Cic. Rep. 1, 36 (acc. to the Gr. of Aratus, ἐκ Διὸς ἀρχώμεσθα): ab illis incipit uxor, Juv. 6, 348; Quint. 10, 1, 46: incipiamus ab iis, id. 9, 2, 6: semper ab excusatione aetatis incipientem, id. 6, 3, 76: potissimum incipiam ab ea parte, id. 3, 7, 1: optime manus a sinistra parte incipit, in dextra deponitur, id. 11, 3, 106: amicitia incepta a parvis cum aetate accrevit simul, Ter. And. 3, 3, 7.
            Pass. impers.: optime incipitur a longis, recte aliquando a brevibus, Quint. 9, 4, 92.
  2. II. Neutr., to begin to be, to begin, commence (rare but class.); constr. with abl. instrum., or absol.
          1. (α) With abl.: tertius sinus Acrocerauniis incipit montibus, Plin. 4, 1, 1, § 1: censere ut principium anni inciperet mense Decembri, Tac. A. 13, 10: verbum petere quo incipiant, Quint. 10, 7, 21.
          2. (β) Absol.: cum ver esse coeperat … cum rosam viderat, tum incipere ver arbitrabatur, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 10, § 27: quoties incipit sensus aut desinit, Quint. 9, 4, 67: hic annus incipit vicesimus, Plaut. Capt. 5, 3, 3: narrationis incipit mihi initium, Ter. And. 4, 2, 26: jam tum inceperat turba inter eos, id. Eun. 4, 4, 58: tempus erat quo prima quies mortalibus aegris Incipit, Verg. A. 2, 269: mox Idumaea incipit et Palaestina, Plin. 5, 13, 14, § 68: epistula, quam incipiente febricula scripseras, Cic. Att. 7, 8, 2: incipientes curas principis onerari, Tac. A. 1, 19: incipiens adhuc et nondum adulta seditio, id. H. 1, 31: incipiens omnia sentit amor, Ov. A. A. 2, 648: Menander Syracusanus incipientis juventae, Plin. 8, 5, 5, § 14: incipiente aestate, id. 27, 13, 109, § 133: trixago incipientibus hydropicis efficax, id. 24, 15, 80, § 131: quem (honorem) et incipientes principes et desinentes adeo concupis cunt ut auferant, Plin. Pan. 57.
            Hence, in-ceptum, i, n., a beginning, attempt, undertaking (freq. in historians and poets, but not in Cæs.; also rare in Cic.): cujus ego non modo factum, sed inceptum ullum conatumve contra patriam deprehendero, Cic. Cat. 2, 12, 27: servetur ad imum, Qualis ab incepto processerit (persona), from the beginning onwards, Hor. A. P. 127: permanere in incepto, Luccei. ap. Cic. Fam. 5, 14 fin.: a quo incepto studioque me ambitio mala detinuerat, Sall. C. 4, 2: cujus neque consilium neque inceptum ullum frustra erat, id. J. 7, 6; cf.: ni ea res longius nos ab incepto traheret, the subject, id. ib. 7 fin.: absistere incepto, Liv. 31, 26, 5: desistere incepto, Verg. A. 1, 37: haerere in incepto, id. ib. 2, 654: peragere inceptum, id. ib. 4, 452; cf.: perficere inceptum, Sall. J. 11 fin.: piget incepti, Verg. A. 5, 678: nunc ad inceptum redeo, Sall. J. 4, 9; 42, 5: turpe inceptum est, Ter. Phorm. 2, 4, 16.
            In plur.: cupidus incepta patrandi, Sall. J. 70, 5: juventus Catilinae inceptis favebat, id. C. 17, 6: incepta mea inpedivit, id. H. 4, 61, 12; cf.: inceptis annue, diva, meis, Ov. Am. 3, 2, 56; and: di nostra incepta secundent, Verg. A. 7, 259: gravia et magna professa, Hor. A. P. 14.