Etymologically
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incoming

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɪnˌkʌm.ɪŋ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from in and coming, after the verb come in.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of coming in, an arrival: 1382 in the OED, the late 14th century in Etymonline.[4][2]

Semantic evolution

A place of entrance (1382) and an entrance fee (1554–9) are obsolete senses,[4] and money that comes in, revenue, usually in the plural, is from 1596.[4] The adjective, coming in as an occupant, is from 1753,[2][3] and was used of game approaching the hunter.[4][2] It was transferred to artillery fire in the First World War, and the warning cry Incoming! seems to date from the Vietnam War (1968).[2]

Timeline

  • 1382 – an arrival.[4]
  • 1596 – incomings, revenue.[4]
  • 1753 – incoming (adjective).[2][3]
  • 1968 – the cry Incoming![2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Coming in; entering: incoming flights.
  2. About to take office; succeeding.
  3. Of interest or dividends, being received; accruing.

Noun

  1. The act of coming in; an arrival.
  2. In the plural, income or revenue.

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press