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incumbent

adj
/ɪnˈkʌmb(ə)nt/UK/ɪnˈkʌmbənt/US/ɪnˈkʊmbən/

Etymology

From Middle English incumbent, encumbent (“holder of an ecclesiastical benefice, dean, parson, etc.; cleric (?)”), 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”), from Latin incumbō (“to lay upon, to lean or recline on; to fall upon, to press down on”): see etymology 1.

  1. derived from incumbō — “to lay upon, to lean or recline on; to fall upon, to press down on”
  2. derived from incumbō — “to obtain; to possess”
  3. inherited from -ent
  4. derived from incumbēns — “holder of a church position”
  5. inherited from incumbent

Definitions

  1. Chiefly followed by on or upon

    Chiefly followed by on or upon: leaning, or lying, reclining, or resting, on something else.

    • Then with expanded wings he ſtears his flight / Aloft, incumbent on the dusky Air / That felt unuſual weight, […]

  2. Being the current holder of an office or a title

    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.

  3. Oppressive, pressuring.

    • The North muſt again have been alarmed, and agitated, by the invaſion of the Huns; and the nations vvho retreated before them, muſt have preſſed vvith incumbent vveight on the confines of Germany.
  4. ›+ 6 more definitions

    1. Followed by on or upon

      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.
      • 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.

    2. Hanging or leaning over.

      • Hath the cleft Centre open'd vvide to Thee? / Death's inmoſt Chambers didſt Thou ever ſee? / E'er knock at his tremendous Gate, and vvade / To the black Portal thro' th' incumbent Shade?
      • [T]he ſpreading beech, that o'er the ſtream / Incumbent hung, […]
      • [M]any a rock, / Hurled by primæval earthquake shock / From Benvenue's grey summit wild, / And here, in random ruin piled, / They frowned incumbent o'er the spot, / And formed the rugged sylvan grot.

    3. Putting much effort into an activity or some work.

      • And lovve menne ſpiritually are ſuche, as are incumbente and dooe reſt on filthy or vile and tranſitory thynges.

    4. Weighing on one's mind.

      • Ambition, and Covetouſneſſe are Paſſions alſo that are perpetually incumbent, and preſſing; vvhereas Reaſon is not perpetually preſent, to reſiſt them: and therefore vvhenſoever the hope of impunity appears, their effects proceed.

    5. The current holder of an office or title

      The current holder of an office or title; (specifically, Christianity) the holder of an ecclesiastical benefice.

      • 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.

    6. A holder of a position as supplier to a market or market segment that allows the holder…

      A holder of a position as supplier to a market or market segment that allows the holder to earn above-normal profits.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at incumbent. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01incumbent02lying03lies04lie05rest06sleeping07asleep08inattentive09careless10avoidance

A definitional loop anchored at incumbent. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

10 hops · closes at incumbent

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA