incident

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɪn.sɪ.dənt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English incident, borrowed from Middle French incident, and directly from Latin incidēns (“falling upon, happening”),^[2][3][4] the present participle of incidere “to fall into, fall upon, happen, befall”,^[2][5] from in- “on” and cadere “to fall”,^[2][3] from Proto-Indo-European *kad- (“to fall”).^[2] It is related to accident, incidence and cadence.^[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Something that happens in connection with something else, a subordinate event: 1412–1420 in the OED,^[7] before 1420 in Barnhart, in Lydgate's Troy Book.^[3] The adjective, liable to happen, is from probably before 1425 in Barnhart and the late 15th century in Etymonline.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

An event viewed on its own, the main modern sense, is from the mid-15th century (1462 in the OED).^[2][7] A distinct episode in a play or poem is from 1695,^[7] and in law a privilege or burden that goes with something else from 1628.^[7] The euphemistic sense of an event that may set off a crisis or unrest, such as a border clash, is from 1913.^[2][7] The adjective “falling or striking upon”, as of light, is from the 1660s.^[2] Incidental and incidentally are from the 17th century.^[4]

Timeline

• 1412–20 – a subordinate event.^[7]
• 1462 – a separate occurrence.^[7]
• late 15th century – adjective, likely to happen.^[2]
• 1628 – in law, a privilege or burden attached to something.^[7]
• 1660s – adjective, falling upon.^[2]
• 1695 – an episode in a play.^[7]
• 1913 – an event that may provoke a crisis.^[2][7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Something that happens, especially an event that is unusual or unpleasant.
2. A minor event connected with something more important.
3. A violent or troublesome event, such as a clash between countries, that may lead to a crisis.

Adjective

1. incident to: tending to happen as a result of or along with something.
2. (physics) Falling on or striking a surface: incident light.

Word family

• incidentless
• nonincident
• coincident
• incidental

Related words

• accident
• incidence
• cadence
• coincide

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press