Added 9 October 2026
incubate
/ˈɪŋkjʊbeɪt/ verb
Latin root: incubātus First recorded: 1641 Wiktionary
verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about incubate at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- To brood, raise, or maintain eggs, organisms, or living tissue through the provision of ideal environmental conditions.
- To incubate metaphorically; to ponder an idea slowly and deliberately as if in preparation for hatching it.
noun
- A preparation, or material, that has been incubated.
Origin
First attested in 1641; borrowed from Latin incubātus, an alternative to incubitus, perfect passive participle of incubō (“to hatch”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from in- (“in”) + cubō (“to lie”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)