INCUMBENT • FREE-TRANSLATOR.COM • Definition of Incumbent

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/ɪnkˈəmbənt/ Listen

noun

Incumbent n. A person who is in present possession of a benefice or of any office. "The incumbent lieth at the mercy of his patron."

adjective

Incumbent adj.

Lying; resting; reclining; recumbent; superimposed; superincumbent. "Two incumbent figures, gracefully leaning upon it." "To move the incumbent load they try."

Lying, resting, or imposed, as a duty or obligation; obligatory; always with on or upon. "All men, truly zealous, will perform those good works that are incumbent on all Christians."

(Bot.) Leaning or resting; said of anthers when lying on the inner side of the filament, or of cotyledons when the radicle lies against the back of one of them.

(Zool.) Bent downwards so that the ends touch, or rest on, something else; as, the incumbent toe of a bird.

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Etymology of 'Incumbent'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Incumbent" Quotes from Famous Books

... Legislature. Hon. James C. Conkling has given the following graphic description of the scene: "A gentleman who had formerly been Attorney-General of the State was also a member. Presuming upon his age, experience, and former official position, he thought it incumbent upon himself to oppose Lincoln, who was then one of the acknowledged leaders of his party. He at length attracted the attention of Lincoln, who replied to his remarks, telling one of his humorous anecdotes and making a personal application to his opponent which placed the latter in such a ridiculous ...

— The Every-day Life of Abraham Lincoln • Francis Fisher Browne

... Church calls upon us to commemorate the Epiphany, or manifestation of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, and we know not that in the whole range of Scripture we could find a passage which more distinctly and definitely than this, brings before us the spirit in which it is incumbent upon us to enter upon this duty. In considering this passage we shall divide it into these two branches:—1st, the definition which the Apostle Paul here gives of the Church of Christ; and, 2ndly, the Name by ...

— Sermons Preached at Brighton - Third Series • Frederick W. Robertson

... is that in future it is to be a case of—"For every man, a bomb or two"; and it is incumbent upon us, if we desire to prevent these infernal machines from exploding while yet in our custody, to attain the necessary details as to their construction and tender spots by the humiliating process of ...

— The First Hundred Thousand • Ian Hay

... upon the surface of the fermenting liquor; for the smoke readily unites with this kind of air, probably by means of the water which it contains; so that very little or none of the smoke will escape into the open air, which is incumbent upon it. It is remarkable, that the upper surface of this smoke, floating in the fixed air, is smooth, and well defined; whereas the lower surface is exceedingly ragged, several parts hanging down to a considerable distance within the body of the fixed air, and sometimes ...

— Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air • Joseph Priestley

... the Holy Ghost, let him that is wise consider it. For if coming to God by Christ, be in itself but a thing indifferent, and only made a duty upon the account of certain circumstances; then, to come to God by Christ, is a duty incumbent upon us only by reason of certain circumstances; not that the thing in itself is good, or that the nature of sin, and the justice of God, layeth a necessity on us so to do. But what be these certain circumstances? For it is ...

— The Works of John Bunyan • John Bunyan

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