Word of the Day
: June 21, 2016inchoate
playWhat It Means
: being only partly in existence or operation : incipient; especially : imperfectly formed or formulated : formless, incoherent
inchoate in Context
Five years ago, the restaurant was merely an inchoate notion in Nathan's head; today it is one of the most popular eateries in the city.
"The nexus point in any populist upwelling is whether or not it evolves from an inchoate outrage into a legitimate movement." — Gene Altshuler, The Mountain Democrat (Placerville, California), 2 Mar. 2016
Did You Know?
Inchoate derives from inchoare, which means "to start work on" in Latin but translates literally as "to hitch up." Inchoare was formed from the prefix in- and the noun cohum, which refers to the part of a yoke to which the beam of a plow is fitted. The concept of implementing this initial step toward the larger task of plowing a field can help provide a clearer understanding of inchoate, an adjective used to describe the imperfect form of something (such as a plan or idea) in its early stages of development. Perhaps because it looks a little like the word chaos (although the two aren't closely related), inchoate now not only implies the formlessness that often marks beginnings but also the confusion caused by chaos.
Test Your Vocabulary with M-W Quizzes
Test Your Memory
What verb beginning with "h" and meaning "to intimidate or harass by bluster or personal pressure" is said to be influenced by the name for rowdy toughs who roamed the streets of 17th-century London? (It was our May 17th Word of the Day.)
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