Incarnated

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Given a physical or bodily form, especially of a spirit or abstract quality becoming human or tangible
2. Manifested in bodily form, typically describing a soul or concept taking a concrete and visible shape
3. Having taken on a physical existence, often used to express the embodiment of an idea or divine presence

Etymology: The past tense "incarnated" is simply "incarnate" with the regular ending added, and the verb "incarnate" goes back to a Church Latin word, "incarnātus," which meant "made flesh." Its root is Latin "carō," meaning flesh (its stem is "carn-"), so the whole word is built from "in-" plus "flesh," with a suffix that turns the noun into a verb. The core idea is literal: to incarnate something is to put it into flesh. The English form first appeared in Middle English around 1395, when it was used of God or Christ taking human form. The surrounding Latin sense was not limited to that, though. The Middle English word could also describe a wound being healed by new tissue, and it could even appear in bloody curses, so the flesh idea reached well beyond theology. Only later did the word come to describe abstract things, such as a soul, an ideal, or a cause given a visible shape. That move from bodily form to any concept made concrete is the step that leads to the modern sense.

Synonyms: manifested, embodied, materialized

Antonyms: disembodied, abstracted