Where does “incidental” come from?
Incidental comes from English incident, derived from Latin incidens, the present participle of incidere meaning to fall upon, from Latin in and cadere.
incidental (English): Loosely associated; existing as a byproduct,...
Definitions
- Loosely associated; existing as a byproduct,...
Ancestry of “incidental”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | incident | An event or occurrence; A event that is... |
| 2 | Middle French | incident | — |
| 3 | Old French | incident | — |
| 4 | Latin | incidens | falling upon; cutting up, hewing open;... |
| 5 | Latin | incidere | present active infinitive of incidō;... |
| 6 | Latin | īn- | un-, non-, not |
| 7 | Latin | în | in, at, on, upon, from (space) |
| 8 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |