Etymology Explorer › English

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

  1. Any apparatus used to maintain environmental...

Ancestry of “incubator”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishincubateTo brood, raise, or maintain eggs, organisms, or...
2Latinincubatus—
3Latinincubō—
4Latincubō—
5Proto-Italickubāō—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanḱewb-briar, thorn
7Proto-Indo-Europeanḱew-skin, colour of the skin; to shine; bright; to...
8Proto-Indo-Europeangʷṓwscattle

Words derived from “incubator”

  • microincubator
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʷṓws →