concoct

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):/kənˈkɒkt/,[kʰəŋˈkʰɒkt]

• Audio(US):

  (file)

• Rhymes:-ɒkt

Etymology 1

FromLatinconcoquō(“boil, prepare, digest”)(influenced by the participleconcoctus), fromcon-(“together”)+coquō(“cook”).

Verb

concoct(third-person singular simple presentconcocts,present participleconcocting,simple past and past participleconcocted)

1. Topreparesomething bymi xingvariousingredients,especially to preparefoodforcooking.

   Synonyms:prepare,mix

   toconcocta potion

   toconcocta new dish

   • 1834,L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon],chapter IX, inFrancesca Carrara.[…],volume II, London:Richard Bentley,[…],(successor toHenry Colburn),→OCLC,page103:

     Their only regret was, that Mademoiselle Carrara would taste none of the conserves and the pastry they were so busilyconcocting.

   • 2007,Cecilia Dart-Thornton,The Well of Tears: Book Two of The Crowthistle Chronicles,Tor Books,→ISBN:

     Pecan shells make good fuel, and they are used by leather tanners toconcocttheir foul-smelling compounds, and sometimes we mix them with charcoal in hand-soap to make a really good scrubbing agent

   • 2014,Lisa Howard,Healthier Gluten-Free,MA: Fair Winds Press,→ISBN,page171:

     The twelve include Jill (she used to be a chicken-and-potatoes girl, but now she's willing to try whatever Iconcoct),[…]

2. (figurative)Tocontrivesomething usingskilloringenuity.

   Synonyms:contrive,plot,scheme

   toconcocta cunning plan

   • 1842,[anonymous collaborator ofLetitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XXVI, inLady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances.[…],volume II, London:Henry Colburn,[…],→OCLC,page34:

     On the other hand, the finest argument everconcocted,the concentrated wisdom drawn from men and books, will fail to charm, like the hilarity of a dance, or the splendour of a gala, the young, gay girl, whose spirits are exuberant, and whose heart is untouched by care, and who, a dozen years afterwards, would, in calm cheerfulness, listen lovingly, and examine carefully, the pleaded reasons offered to her judgment.

   • 2005,Jean Ferris,Into the Wind: Part One,iUniverse,→ISBN,page161:

     He had two beautiful daughters who fell in love with men he approved of and he wanted to give them the most lavish double wedding he couldconcoct.

3. (obsolete)Todigest.
   • 1703,Thomas Gibson,The Anatomy of Humane Bodies Epitomized,page297:

     For the parts of anEmbryoare nourished and encreased before it hath a Stomach toconcoctany thing, and yet in a perfectFœtusnone can deny that the Stomach doesconcoct[…]

Derived terms

• concocter
• concoctive
• concoctor
• deconcoct
• inconcocted
• reconcoct
• unconcocted

Related terms

• concoction
• decoct

Translations

to prepare something by mi xing various ingredients, especially to prepare food for cooking

• German:zusammenbrauen(de),zusammenmischen(de),zusammenrühren(de),zusammenkochen,fabrizieren(de),zubereiten(de),brauen(de),auskochen(de),zusammenstellen(de)
• Hebrew:רָקַח(he)(raqáẖ)
• Italian:intrugliare(it),preparare(it)
• Polish:przyrządzać(pl)impf,przyrządzić(pl)pf
• Russian:состряпывать(sostrjapyvatʹ)
• Spanish:confeccionar(es)
• Turkish:meczetmek

to contrive something using skill or ingenuity

• Dutch:samenstellen(nl),in elkaar flansen
• Finnish:keksiä(fi),kehittää(fi),luoda(fi)
• German:ersinnen(de),sich ausdenken,ausdenken(de),ausbrüten(de),sich zurechtlegen,spinnen(de),aushecken(de),zurechtlegen(de)
• Irish:cum
• Italian:combinare(it),complottare(it)
• Norwegian:pønske ut
• Polish:wymyślić(pl)
• Russian:выдумывать(ru)(vydumyvatʹ),изобрета́ть(ru)(izobretátʹ)
• Turkish:tertip etmek(tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions atWiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Bulgarian:скалъпвам(bg)(skalǎpvam)
• French:concocter(fr)

Noun

concoct(pluralconcocts)

1. (rare,nonstandard)Aconcoction.
   • 2006,Wendel Messer,The Conquest of Canada: A Novel of Discovery,Gravenhurst, O.N.: Breller Books,→ISBN,page27:

     I don't suppose these creatures are theconcoctof your mind? "La Tour said." If they're real, then Nature there is warped, no doubt by oppressive dampness and heat. "

Etymology 2

BorrowedfromLatinconcoctus,perfect passive participle ofLatinconcoquō(compareEtymology 1).

Adjective

concoct(comparativemoreconcoct,superlativemostconcoct)

1. (obsolete)Digestedor affected byheat.

References

• “concoct,v.”,inOED Online⁠,Oxford, Oxfordshire:Oxford University Press,launched 2000.
• “concoct,adj.”,inOED Online⁠,Oxford, Oxfordshire:Oxford University Press,launched 2000.