Hypertext Webster Gateway: "incubation"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Incubation \In`cu*ba"tion\, n. [L. incubatio: cf. F.
incubation.]
1. A sitting on eggs for the purpose of hatching young; a
brooding on, or keeping warm, (eggs) to develop the life
within, by any process. --Ray.
2. (Med.) The development of a disease from its causes, or
its period of incubation. (See below.)
3. A sleeping in a consecrated place for the purpose of
dreaming oracular dreams. --Tylor.
{Period of incubation}, or {Stage of incubation} (Med.), the
period which elapses between exposure to the causes of a
disease and the attack resulting from it; the time of
development of the supposed germs or spores.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
incubation
n 1: maintaining something at the most favorable temperature for
its development
2: sitting on eggs so as to hatch them by the warmth of the
body [syn: {brooding}]
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