Incubated

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To have maintained a suitable environment to enable growth or change in organisms or concepts
2. Kept warm and protected to allow growth or hatching of eggs or fostering of ideas
3. Provided necessary heat and conditions to support the development of embryos, microorganisms, or innovations

Etymology: The verb "incubate" comes from Latin "incubare," meaning "to lie upon," built from "in-" ("on") and "cubare" ("to lie down"). The Romans used "incubare" of a bird sitting on its eggs, so the original picture is literal: a hen pressing her body down over a clutch to keep it warm. Only later did the sense stretch to anything kept in a warm, protected state while it develops. English took the word in the 1600s, first attested in 1641, and it kept the hatching image for some time before the wider senses took hold. Today "incubated" is the past form of the verb, so it can describe eggs warmed until they hatch, or a plan, idea or business nurtured in shelter until it is ready to face the world.

Synonyms: developed, cultivated, hatched

Antonyms: abandoned, neglected