incubator

Etymology

The OED takes it as borrowed from Latin incubātor, an agent noun from incubō (“to lie on, to hatch”),^[2][3] which Etymonline notes meant in Late Latin one who lies in a place;^[4] Dictionary.com also gives it as a Late Latin word, literally one who lies in or upon something.^[5] Etymonline and the SOED instead treat it as an agent noun formed from English incubate + -or.^[4][6] The Latin verb is formed from in- (“on”) and cubō (“to lie down”).^[7][2][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Figuratively, one who sits brooding: 1851, in De Quincey.^[2] The apparatus for hatching eggs by artificial heat is recorded from 1857, in the Cottage Gardener,^[2][9] although Etymonline dates it to 1845^[4] and Dictionary.com to 1855–60.^[5]

Semantic evolution

From the hatching of eggs the word spread to other apparatus that keep a steady warmth: from 1896 a box for rearing babies born prematurely, in the Westminster Gazette, and in the same year a cabinet for growing bacteria, in Allbutt's System of Medicine.^[2] Figuratively, from 1864, an incubator was a breeder or source of something.^[2] In Sydney slang of 1900 incubator meant a wife.^[10] The sense of a bird or other animal that sits on its eggs is in the SOED from the mid-19th century,^[6] but the OED records it only from 1969.^[2] Collins also defines an incubator as a building divided into small units that gives new businesses equipment and support.^[11]

Timeline

• 1851 – figuratively, one who sits brooding.^[2]
• 1857 – an apparatus for hatching eggs by artificial heat.^[2][9] Etymonline dates this sense to 1845.^[4]
• 1864 – figuratively, a breeder or source.^[2]
• 1896 – an apparatus for rearing premature babies; an apparatus for growing bacteria.^[2]
• 1900 – in Sydney slang, a wife.^[10]
• 1969 – a bird or other animal that incubates its eggs.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. An apparatus in which eggs are kept warm and hatched artificially.^{[9][12][11][2]}
2. An enclosed apparatus that keeps a premature or sick baby warm and protected.^{[11][12][9][2]}
3. A cabinet with controlled temperature and humidity for growing cultures of bacteria and other microorganisms.^{[12][9][11][2]}
4. A building or organization that gives small new businesses space, equipment and support.^[11]
5. A person, animal or thing that incubates, such as a sitting bird.^[11][9][2]

Related words

• incubate
• incubation
• incubus
• cubicle
• concubine
• succumb

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 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
8. ^ Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
9. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
11. ^ a b c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
12. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin