INCUBATE

verb (-bated; -bating) Etymology: Latin incubatus, past participle of incubare, from in- + cubare to lie Date: 1641 transitive verb 1. to sit on (eggs) so as to hatch by the warmth of the body, to maintain (as an embryo or a chemically active system) under conditions favorable for hatching, development, or reaction, to cause or aid the development of , intransitive verb to sit on eggs, to undergo incubation ; develop , incubative adjective incubatory adjective