Etymologically
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incorporate

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 16:35. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɪnˈkoɹ.pəˌɹeɪt/, /ɪŋˈkoɹ.pɹeɪt/; /ɪŋˈkɔː.pə.ɹeɪt/, /ɪŋˈkɔː.pə.ɹət/ (UK)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English incorporaten, borrowed from Late Latin incorporātus, the past participle of incorporō (“to unite into one body, embody”),[2][3][4] from in- (“into”) and corpus (“body”) (stem corpor-; see corpse and corporal).[2][3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To combine into one body, include: before 1398, in Trevisa's translation of Bartholomew's De Proprietatibus Rerum, in Barnhart;[2] the late 14th century in Etymonline, where it also meant to absorb or eat, often in medical writing.[3]

Semantic evolution

To establish as a legal corporation is first recorded in the Rolls of Parliament in 1461 (the mid-15th century).[2][3] The participial adjective, formally constituted as a corporation, is from 1480.[6] To admit someone as a member of a body is from the 16th century.[7] A separate adjective incorporate, without bodily substance, is from 1540, now obsolete.[6][4]

Timeline

  • before 1398 – to combine into one body.[2]
  • 1461 – to form a legal corporation.[2]
  • 1480 – incorporate, incorporated (adjective).[6]
  • 1540 – incorporate, incorporeal (obsolete).[6]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To include something as part of a whole.
  2. To combine or merge into a single body.
  3. To form a business into a legal corporation.
  4. To admit as a member of a corporation or society.

Adjective

  1. Combined into one; incorporated.

Word family

  • incorporable
  • incorporation
  • incorporative
  • incorporator
  • disincorporate
  • preincorporate
  • reincorporate
  • incorporated

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press