ˈin(t)sədən(t)s also -d ə n- or -ˌden- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Late Latin incidentia, from Latin incident-, incidens + -ia -y
1. now chiefly dialect : incident
2.
a. : an act or the fact or manner of falling upon or affecting : occurrence
diseases of domestic incidence — Science
control of both the incidence of expense and the meeting of expense must lie primarily in the hands of management
b. : rate, range, or amount of occurrence or influence
a rising incidence of poverty
sometimes : the rate of occurrence of new cases of a particular disease in a population being studied — compare prevalence
3. : the falling of a tax upon a person who is unable to shift it onto someone else and who therefore bears the money burden of the tax
the ultimate incidence of most corporation taxes is on the consumer
— compare direct tax
4.
a. : the arrival of something (as a projectile or a ray of light) at a surface
b. : angle of incidence 2