1. Formal Concept. The product that results from the first operation of the intellect, i.e., understanding. It is the expression of the intellect’s apprehension of the essence of the thing it knows. So defined, it is also called in scholastic usage subjective concept, expressed species, or mental word (verbum mentis). The word “concept” used without a modifier typically denotes a formal concept. Note, also, that according to a number of scholastic philosophers and theologians, the mind also forms verba when it judges and discursively reasons. 2. Objective Concept. The essence of the thing known as present to the intellect (as opposed to its particularized instantiation in the thing itself outside the intellect).