Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - conceit

 I. noun  Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from conceivre  Date: 14th century  1.  a.  (1) a result of mental activity ; thought  (2) individual opinion  b. favorable opinion; especially excessive appreciation of one's own worth or virtue  2. a fancy item or trifle  3.  a. a fanciful idea  b. an elaborate or strained metaphor  c. use or presence of such ~s in poetry  d. an organizing theme or concept found his ~ for the film early — Peter Wilkinson  II. transitive verb  Date: 1557  1. obsolete conceive, understand  2. chiefly dialect imagine  3. dialect British to take a fancy to