The story
- Latin · borrowed fromincohātus“begun, unfinished”
- English todayinchoate
The adjective is first attested in 1534, the verb circa 1631; borrowed from Latin incohātus (“begun, unfinished”), perfect passive participle of incohō (“to begin”), see -ate (etymology 1, 2 and 3). Cognate with Spanish incoar (“to initiate, commence, begin”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.