incumbent
English
Etymology
From Middle English, from stem incumbent-, of Medieval Latin incumbēns (“holder of a church position”), from Latin present participle of incumbō (“I lie down upon”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɪnˈkʌmbənt/
Adjective
incumbent (comparative more incumbent, superlative most incumbent)
- Imposed on someone as an obligation, especially due to one's office.
- Proper behavior is incumbent on all holders of positions of trust.
- Sprat
- All men, truly zealous, will perform those good works that are incumbent on all Christians.
- Lying; resting; reclining; recumbent.
- Sir H. Wotton
- two incumbent figures, gracefully leaning upon it
- Addison
- to move the incumbent load they try
- Sir H. Wotton
- Prevalent, prevailing, predominant.
- (botany, geology) Resting on something else; in botany, said of anthers when lying on the inner side of the filament, or of cotyledons when the radicle lies against the back of one of them.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Gray to this entry?)
- (zoology) Bent downwards so that the ends touch, or rest on, something else.
- the incumbent toe of a bird
- Being the current holder of an office or a title.
- If the incumbent senator dies, he is replaced by a person appointed by the governor.
Derived terms
Translations
imposed on someone as an obligation, especially due to one's office
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lying; resting; reclining; recumbent
prevalent, prevailing, predominant
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resting on something else
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zoology: bent downwards
being the current holder of an office
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Noun
incumbent (plural incumbents)
- The current holder of an office, such as ecclesiastical benefice or an elected office.
- 2012, The Economist, 06 Oct 2012 issue, The first presidential debate: Back in the centre, back in the game
- Mr 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.
- 2012, The Economist, 06 Oct 2012 issue, The first presidential debate: Back in the centre, back in the game
- (business) A holder of a position as supplier to a market or market segment that allows the holder to earn above-normal profits.
- 2012, The Economist, Sep 29th 2012 issue, Schumpeter: Fixing the capitalist machine
- 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.
- 2012, The Economist, Sep 29th 2012 issue, Schumpeter: Fixing the capitalist machine
Translations
current holder of an office
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holder of a position to a market that allows to earn above-normal profits
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Latin
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