Incumbent. It’s a silly word, and since it’s election season, we hear it every day! Most of us understand it means a person currently holding an office. But have you ever wondered where incumbent, which can also be an adjective meaning obligatory, comes from?
Incumbent serves as a noun or an adjective. It derives from the Latin verb incumbere, which means “to lie down on.” What does that have to do with holding office? First used in English way back in the 15th century, incumbent named someone who held a paid position in the church. They usually held the office for life, unless certain legal conflicts forced them out of office. So, I guess a responsibility was laid on the incumbent. By the 17th century, incumbent was used to describe a person holding any office, included elected positions.
These days, we use it most often to describe the person already in an office during an election. But we also use it as an adjective with multiple meanings, including
- imposed as a duty, obligatory
- lying or resting on something else
- bent over so as to rest on or touch an underlying surface
Now you know! Over the weekend, when political discussion gets too spicy, wow everyone with your new election vocab knowledge. Thank you, Merriam-Webster!
Are there other election words you’d like to learn more about? I’ve also taken a deep dive into Trial Balloon and Parity.
Thanks for getting nerdy with me!
