conceit

 
Pronunciation: /kənˈsiːt/

noun

  • 1 [mass noun] excessive pride in oneself: he was puffed up with conceit
  • 2an ingenious or fanciful comparison or metaphor: the idea of the wind’s singing is a prime romantic conceit
  • an artistic effect or device: the director’s brilliant conceit was to film this tale in black and white
  • a fanciful notion: he is alarmed by the widespread conceit that he spent most of the 1980s drunk

Origin:

late Middle English (in the sense 'notion', also 'quaintly decorative article'): from conceive, on the pattern of pairs such as deceive, deceit

Spelling rule

i before e except after c (as in receive).