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Added 8 October 2026

incumbent

/ɪnˈkʌmb(ə)nt/ noun

Latin root: incumbentem Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about incumbent at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

The official who holds an office.

adjective

Lying or leaning on something else.
an incumbent geological formation
Necessary (for someone) as a duty or responsibility; morally binding.
it is incumbent on them to pay their own debts
Currently holding an office.
the incumbent governor

Origin

From Latin incumbentem + English -ent (suffix denoting the causing, doing, or promoting of an action). Incumbentem is the accusative singular of incumbēns (“reclining”), the present active participle of incumbō (“to lay upon, to lean or recline on; to fall upon, to press down on”), from in- (prefix meaning ‘against; into; on, upon’) + *cumbō (“to lie down, recline”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewb-).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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