incumbency

C2+ Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /ɪnˈkʌmbənsi/ UK /ɪnˈkʌmbənsi/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the holding of an office or position, or its term

During her incumbency the department doubled in size.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the holding of an office or... tenure office term occupancy possession

Word family

Related forms incumbentincumberrecumbent

Etymology

From incumbent + -cy, from Medieval Latin incumbentia, from Latin incumbere ('to lie or lean upon'), from in- ('upon') + cumbere ('to lie down').

incumbere Latin cumbere Latin *ḱey- Proto-Indo-European

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Topics

Space, Position & Direction Word Formation & Derivatives

# incumbency

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ɪnˈkʌmbənsi
**IPA (UK):** ɪnˈkʌmbənsi

## Meanings
1. the holding of an office or position, or its term

## Examples
- During her incumbency the department doubled in size.

## Synonyms
- tenure
- office
- term
- occupancy
- possession

## Related Forms
- incumbent
- incumber
- recumbent

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: incumbere
- Root: cumbere
- Root: *ḱey-

## Etymology
From incumbent + -cy, from Medieval Latin incumbentia, from Latin incumbere ('to lie or lean upon'), from in- ('upon') + cumbere ('to lie down').

## AI Etymology
Incumbency comes from incumbent + -cy, from Medieval Latin incumbentia, from Latin incumbere ('to lie or lean upon'), from in- ('upon') + cumbere ('to lie down'). The etymological trail includes Latin incumbere, Latin cumbere, and Proto-Indo-European *ḱey-. As a noun, incumbency means the holding of an office or position, or its term. The same family is visible in related forms such as incumbent, incumber, and recumbent. Morphologically, the word is built from the elements named in its history, so the modern form preserves a visible compound, prefix, or suffix structure.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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incumbency

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