Where does “incubator” come from?
Incubator comes from Latin incubator, an agent noun from incubare, meaning to lie upon or brood, from the prefix in- and the root in-.
incubator (English): Any apparatus used to maintain environmental...
Definitions
- Any apparatus used to maintain environmental...
Ancestry of “incubator”, step by step
incubator traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English incubate
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | incubate | To brood, raise, or maintain eggs, organisms, or... |
| 2 | Latin | incubatus | — |
| 3 | Latin | incubō | to lie, sit, or settle in, on or upon; recline |
| 4 | Latin | cubō | to lie down, recline |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | kubāō | to lie down |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱewb- | briar, thorn |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱew- | skin, colour of the skin; to shine; bright; to... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷṓws | cattle |
via English ‐or
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ‐or | Creates an agent noun, often from a verb, indicating a person or object (often machines or parts of them) that do the verb or part of speech with which they are formed |
| 2 | Middle English | -our | — |
| 3 | Old French | -eor | Alternative form of -or |
| 4 | Latin | -ator | -ator, -er; second-person singular future passive... |
| 5 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |
via Latin incubāre
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | incubāre | — |