Etymologically
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incidental

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Pronunciation

  • /ɪnsɪˈdɛntəl/, /ɪnsəˈdɛntəl/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English incident + -al.[2][3][4] The Shorter Oxford says it was originally from Medieval Latin incidentalis, used in angulus incidentalis (“angle of incidence”), and in modern use formed from incident,[5] and Etymonline and the Oxford Dictionary of English derive it from the Medieval Latin word.[6][7] Merriam-Webster thinks its meaning was probably influenced by incidenter (“incidentally”).[4] Incident comes from Latin incidēns (“falling upon, happening”), the present participle of incidō (“to fall upon, happen, befall”),[6][7] formed from in- (“on”) and cadō (“to fall”), from Proto-Indo-European *kad- (“to fall”).[6] The OED compares French incidentel.[2] The earlier English adjective in this sense was incident, from the 1520s.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Liable to happen to something, in incidental to: first recorded in 1616, in Coryat.[2][5] The sense "occurring by chance alongside something more important" follows in 1644, in Milton's Of Education;[2][4] Etymonline dates the word to the 1640s.[6]

Semantic evolution

From the idea of something that falls upon or happens alongside another thing, the word came to mean casual, minor or secondary.[6][2] Johnson (1755) defined it as happening by chance, not intended, quoting Milton.[8] From 1740 it was used of charges and expenses that are incurred besides the main ones,[2] and the noun incidentals, such occasional expenses, is attested from 1707.[6][2][4] Incidental music, background music, originally in operas, dates from 1812.[6] In the 19th century it was also used for "met with by chance" (1856) and of a person given to relating incidents (1843, Carlyle).[2]

Timeline

  • 1616 – incidental to, liable to happen to.[2]
  • 1644 – occurring by chance or as a minor accompaniment.[2][4]
  • 1707 – noun, an incidental item or expense.[2][6][4]
  • 1740 – of a charge or expense, besides the main one.[2]
  • 1812 – incidental music.[6]
  • 1876 – incidental images, afterimages.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Happening by chance or as a minor accompaniment to something more important; casual or subordinate: The film's incidental details were carefully researched.[4][9][2]
  2. Of costs, small and occasional, besides the main ones: incidental expenses.[4][9][2]
  3. incidental to: likely to happen as a consequence of, or naturally connected with: the risks incidental to deep-sea diving.[9][2][5]
  4. incidental upon: following from, caused by.[9][2]

Noun

  1. Something incidental; usually in the plural, minor items or expenses not listed separately: The fee covers tuition but not incidentals.[4][9][2]

Word family

  • incidentalness
  • nonincidental
  • unincidental
  • incidentally
  • incidental music

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  9. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins