incumbent

English
WOTD – 6 January 2025

Pronunciation
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɪnˈkʌmb(ə)nt/, /ɪŋ-/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ɪnˈkʌmbənt/, /ɪŋ-/
  • Audio (GA)(file)
  • Hyphenation: in‧cumb‧ent

Etymology 1

From Latin incumbentem + English -ent (suffix denoting the causing, doing, or promoting of an action). Incumbentem is the accusative singular of incumbēns (“reclining”), the present active participle of incumbō (“to lay upon, to lean or recline on; to fall upon, to press down on”), from in- (prefix meaning ‘against; into; on, upon’) + *cumbō (“to lie down, recline”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewb-).[1]

Adjective

incumbent (comparative more incumbent, superlative most incumbent)

  1. Chiefly followed by on or upon: leaning, or lying, reclining, or resting, on something else.
    Synonym: recumbent
    • 1624, Henry Wotton, The Elements of Architecture, […], London: […] Iohn Bill, →OCLC, II. part, page 103:
      [I]f the great Doore, be Arched, vvith ſome braue Head, cut in fine Stone or Marble for the Key of the Arch, and tvvo Incumbent Figures gracefully leaning vpon it, tovvards one another, as if they meant to conferre; I ſhould thinke this a ſufficient entertainement, for the firſt Reception, of any Iudicious Sight, […]
    • 1659 December 30 (date written), Robert Boyle, “[Experiment 1]”, in New Experiments Physico-Mechanicall, Touching the Spring of the Air, and Its Effects, (Made, for the Most Part, in a New Pneumatical Engine) […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] H[enry] Hall, printer to the University, for Tho[mas] Robinson, published 1660, →OCLC, page 33:
      [U]pon the tops of high Mountains, the Air vvhich bears againſt the reſtagnant Quick-ſilver, is leſs preſſ'd by the leſs ponderous incumbent Air; and conſequently is not able totally to hinder the deſcent of ſo tall and heavy a Cylinder of Quick-ſilver, as at the bottom of ſuch Mountains did but maintain an Æquilibrium vvith the incumbent Atmoſphere.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 225–227:
      Then with expanded wings he ſtears his flight / Aloft, incumbent on the dusky Air / That felt unuſual weight, […]
    • 1705, J[oseph] Addison, “The Antiquities and Natural Curiosities that Lye near the City of Naples”, in Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 249:
      Here, as ’tis ſaid, the Rebel Giants lye, / And vvhen to move th’incumbent Load they try, / Aſcending Vapours on the Day prevail, / The Sun looks ſickly, and the Skie grovv pale.
      A translation of a passage from Silius Italicus’s Punica.
    • 1853, Pisistratus Caxton [pseudonym; Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter IV, in “My Novel”; Or Varieties in English Life […], volume II, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book fifth, page 19:
      And, rising from his incumbent posture, he sought to force the end of the weed [a cigar] between the teeth of the dog.
    1. (botany) Of an anther: lying on the inner side of the filament; also, of a cotyledon: having its back lying against the radicle.
      • 1857, Asa Gray, “Lesson XVII. Morphology of the Stamens.”, in First Lessons in Botany and Vegetable Physiology, […], New York, N.Y.: Ivison & Phinney and G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam & Co., […], →OCLC, paragraph 293, page 113:
        [T]he anther either looks inwards or outwards. When it is turned inwards, or is fixed to that side of the filament which looks towards the pistil or centre of the flower, the anther is incumbent or intorse, as in Magnolia and the Water-Lily. When turned outwards, or fixed to the outer side of the filament, it is extorse, as in the Tulip-tree.
    2. (zoology) Of a body part such as a hair, spine, or wing: bent downwards or otherwise positioned so that it, or part of it, rests on or touches something else; specifically (ornithology), of the hind toe of a bird: fully resting on a support.
      the incumbent toe of a bird
  2. (figurative)
    1. Being the current holder of an office or a title; specifically (Christianity, obsolete), of an ecclesiastical benefice.
      If the incumbent senator dies, he is replaced by a person appointed by the governor.
      • 1655, Thomas Fuller, “Section II. The Seventh Century.”, in The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, book II, subsection 68 (England Divided into Parishes. A.D. 637.), page 120:
        But whether parishes,—as usually understood for places bounded in regard of the profits from the people therein, payable only to a pastor incumbent there;—I say, whether such parishes were extant in this age, may well be questioned, as inconsistent with the community of ecclesiastic profits, which then seemed jointly enjoyed by the bishop and his clergy.
      • 2023 May 7, Dan Bilefsky, “Did China Help Vancouver’s Mayor Win Election?”, in The New York Times‎, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-06-04:
        Analysts said that, while China sought to wield political influence in Vancouver, whatever role it played was unlikely to have swung the vote. ¶ Kennedy Stewart, the incumbent mayor and Mr. [Ken] Sim's left-wing rival, agreed. "Chinese interference isn't the primary reason I lost," he said. "But it may have been a contributing factor." He received 29 percent of the vote to Mr. Sim's 51 percent.
    2. Oppressive, pressuring.
    3. Followed by on or upon: imposed on one as an obligation, especially due to one's office or position.
      Proper behaviour is incumbent on all holders of positions of trust.
      • 1679 January 2 (Gregorian calendar), Thomas Sprat, A Sermon Preached before the King at White-hall December the 22. 1678, [London]: […] S. R. for Henry Brome, →OCLC, page 32:
        Certainly all men truly Zelous, vvill moſt induſtriously endeavor to perform the first kind of good VVorks alvvaies; thoſe, I mean, that are incumbent on all Christians.
      • 1713, George Berkeley, “The Third Dialogue”, in Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous. […], London: […] G[eorge] James, for Henry Clements, […], →OCLC, page 144:
        But, as for ſolid, corporeal Subſtances, I deſire you to ſhevv vvhere Moſes makes any mention of them; and, if they ſhou'd be mentioned by him, or any other inſpired VVriter, it vvou'd ſtill be incumbent on you to ſhevv, thoſe VVords vvere not taken in the vulgar Acceptation, or an unknovvn Quiddity, vvith an abſolute Exiſtence.
      • 1870 April–September, Charles Dickens, “A Settler in Cloisterham”, in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1870, →OCLC, page 143:
        He begged Mrs. Tope's pardon when she found it incumbent on her to correct him in every detail of his summary of the facts, but pleaded that he was merely a single buffer getting through life upon his means as idly as he could, and that so many people were so constantly making away with so many other people, as to render it difficult for a buffer of an easy temper to preserve the circumstances of the several cases unmixed in his mind.
      • 2023 August 25, Braden Dupuis, “Opinion: The things we leave behind”, in Pique Newsmagazine‎, Whistler, B.C.: Glacier Media Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-09-30:
        When the fires finally come for Whistler, the evacuation process will be hectic, to put it lightly. It is incumbent upon all of us to ensure we're well prepared.
      • 2023 September 19, Solcyre Burga, “’We Can Do It’: Celebrity Chef Andrew Zimmern on Finding the Will to Solve Hunger”, in Time‎, New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-09-30:
        While it's incumbent on Congress to act, Zimmern told guests on Monday night that everyone can play a part. He encouraged seeing hunger firsthand by volunteering at shelters and talking about it to keep the issue at the forefront as a matter of "moral urgency.".
    4. (poetic) Hanging or leaning over.
    5. (obsolete) Putting much effort into an activity or some work.
    6. (obsolete) Weighing on one's mind.
Derived terms
Translations
of a body part: bent downwards or otherwise positioned so that it, or part of it, rests on or touches something else; of the hind toe of a bird: fully resting on a support
oppressive, pressuring — see oppressive

Etymology 2

From Middle English incumbent, encumbent (“holder of an ecclesiastical benefice, dean, parson, etc.; cleric (?)”),[2] from Medieval Latin incumbēns (“holder of a church position”) + Middle English -ent (suffix denoting one that causes, does, or promotes an action). Incumbēns is derived from Medieval Latin incumbō (“to obtain; to possess”),[3][4] from Latin incumbō (“to lay upon, to lean or recline on; to fall upon, to press down on”): see etymology 1.

Noun

incumbent (plural incumbents)

  1. The current holder of an office or title; (specifically, Christianity) the holder of an ecclesiastical benefice.
    Antonym: nonincumbent
    Coordinate term: (dated, rare) incumbentess
    • 1876, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XXIV, in Daniel Deronda, volume II, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book III (Maidens Choosing), page 123:
      He has always remained friendly to me, though before his promotion, when he was an incumbent of this diocese, we had a little controversy about the Bible Society.
    • 1940, William Faulkner, chapter 3, in The Hamlet […], London: Chatto & Windus, published 1979, →ISBN, book 1 (Flem), section 1, page 61:
      But if they had waited about the store to see what would happen when he arrived who until last night anyway must have still believed himself the incumbent, they were disappointed. […] A few days later they learned that the new smith was living in the house […]
    • 2012 October 6, “The first presidential debate: Back in the centre, back in the game”, in The Economist‎, London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2012-10-06:
      Mr [Barack] Obama's problems were partly structural. An incumbent must defend the realities and compromises of government, while a challenger is freer to promise the earth, details to follow. Mr Obama's odd solution was to play both incumbent and challenger, jumping from a defence of his record to indignation at such ills as over-crowded classrooms and tax breaks for big oil companies.
    • 2022 November 16, Philip Haigh, “Trans-Pennine … Transformative”, in Rail, number 970, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 43:
      Just as interest grew under previous incumbent-but-one Grant Shapps, so interest could wane under new Transport Secretary Mark Harper.
    • 2023 September 24, David Remnick, “The Washington Gerontocracy”, in The New Yorker‎, New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-09-30:
      But the prospect of a Presidential election as a contest of the ancients is not a heartening one, and the anxieties it provokes cannot be dismissed as ageism. What are younger people, especially, to make of a political culture in which incumbents cling so tenaciously to their seats? The median age for senators is now around sixty-five. Mitt Romney, announcing his retirement, at the age of seventy-six, wasn't wrong to declare that it is time for a new generation of leaders to take the helm.
  2. (business) A holder of a position as supplier to a market or market segment that allows the holder to earn above-normal profits.
    Antonym: nonincumbent
    • 2012 September 29, “Schumpeter: Fixing the capitalist machine”, in The Economist‎, London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2012-09-29:
      American capitalism is becoming like its European cousin: established firms with the scale and scope to deal with a growing thicket of regulations are doing well, but new companies are withering on the vine or selling themselves to incumbents.
Derived terms
Translations

References
  1. Compare “incumbent, adj.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “incumbent, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  2. “incumbent, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  3. incumbens in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
  4. Compare “incumbent, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “incumbent, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

Latin

Verb

incumbent

  1. third-person plural future active indicative of incumbō
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