When:
It became one of the top lookups on Merriam-Webster starting July 16, 2010.
Why:
The movie Inception opened that weekend.
Inception means "an act, process, or instance of beginning: commencement."
The word is often used in a phrase that begins with since or from as a formal way to say "from the beginning" - e.g., "We'll assist you at every stage, from inception to completion.'
Inception comes from the Latin word that means "to begin."
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Merriam-Webster unabridged