A named idea not yet embodied — meaning that runs ahead of machinery, lawfully.
Latin conceptus, past participle of concipere (to take in, conceive), from com- (together) + capere (to take, seize); an idea taken hold of and named before it has any body in the world.
A named idea that runs ahead of anything built to hold it. Naming a thing before it exists is itself a lawful kind of work here.