inchoate Hear it!

inchoate definition

in·cho·ate (in kō′it, -āt′)

adjective

  1. just begun; in the early stages; incipient; rudimentary
  2. not yet clearly or completely formed or organized; disordered
  3. Law not yet completed or made effective; pending

Etymology: 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

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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