'inception' originates from Latin, specifically the Late Latin word 'inceptio', where the prefix 'in-' meant 'in' or 'into' and the root related to 'cipere/capere' meant 'to take' (in the sense of 'begin, take up').

'inception' changed from the Late Latin word 'inceptio' into Old French/Anglo-Norman forms and then entered Middle English as 'inception', eventually becoming the modern English word 'inception'.

Initially, it meant 'a taking up or beginning' (the act of beginning), and over time it evolved into its current primary meaning of 'the beginning or start of something'.