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incipient - 5 dictionary results

in⋅cip⋅i⋅ent

  [in-sip-ee-uhnt]
Use incipient in a Sentence
–adjective
beginning to exist or appear; in an initial stage: an incipient cold.
Origin:
1580–90; < L incipient- (s. of incipiēns, prp. of incipere to take in hand, begin), equiv. to in- in- 2 + -cipi- (comb. form of capi- take) + -ent- -ent

Related forms:
in⋅cip⋅i⋅ent⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
beginning, nascent, developing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To incipient
in·cip·i·ent   (ĭn-sĭp'ē-ənt)   
adj.  Beginning to exist or appear: detecting incipient tumors; an incipient personnel problem.

[Latin incipiēns, incipient-, present participle of incipere, to begin; see inception.]
in·cip'i·en·cy, in·cip'i·ence n., in·cip'i·ent·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Incipient

In*cip"i*ent\, a. [L. incipiens, p. pr. of incipere to begin. See Inception.] Beginning to be, or to show itself; commencing; initial; as, the incipient stage of a fever; incipient light of day. -- In*cip"i*ent*ly, adv.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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incipient 
1669, from L. incipientem (nom. incipiens), prp. of incipere "begin, take up," from in- "on" + -cipere, comb. form of capere "to take" (see capable).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: in·cip·i·ent
Pronunciation: -&nt
Function: adjective
: beginning to come into being or to become apparent incipient stage of a fever> —in·cip·i·ent·ly adverb
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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