incubation
/ˌɪŋkjuːˈbeɪʃən/ing-kyoo-BAY-shuhn
UK form converted from the US by rule · unchecked/ˌɪŋkjuˈbeɪʃən/ing-kyoo-BAY-shuhn
Meaningthe act of incubating
Common meaning: keeping eggs warm
Other meanings: the time before illness shows
Tap a word part to explore
- inin, into; (before adjectives) not
- cubto lie downLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 486 · scan
- atverb or adjective ending: to make, having
- ionnoun ending: act or result
‘in, into’ + ‘to lie down’ → incubation
Journey through time
- Latincubō; cumbō‘to lie down’
- Englishincubate‘to keep eggs warm to hatch’
- Englishformed in English from incubateincubation‘keeping eggs warm’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from incubate + -ion.
Dictionary: Skeat (1898), INCUBATE, p.288 · scan
Roots
- cubō; cumbō Latin “to lie down”
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