Dictionary Definition

incubation

1 maintaining something at the most favorable temperature for its development

2 (pathology) the phase in the development of an infection between the time a pathogen enters the body and the time the first symptoms appear

3 sitting on eggs so as to hatch them by the warmth of the body [syn: brooding]

User Contributed Dictionary

From incubationem, from incubare.

Sitting on eggs for the purpose of hatching young; a brooding on, or keeping warm, to develop the life within, by any process.
The development of a disease from its causes, or its period of incubation. (See below.)
Sleeping in a temple or other holy place in order to have oracular dreams.
- 1978, Benjamin Walker, Encyclopedia of Metaphysical Medicine, Routledge 1978, p. 144:
  
  Incubation in the vicinity of burial places, cremation grounds, holy wells and sacred streams was common. The ancient Hebrews visited vaults or slept among tombs to get meaningful dreams.

A sitting on eggs for the purpose of hatching young

The development of a disease from its causes, or its period of incubation

A sleeping in a consecrated place for the purpose of dreaming oracular dreams

The word incubation (from the Latin incubare, "to lie upon") may refer to:

Avian incubation, sitting on or brooding bird's eggs in order to hatch them
Incubation period, a medical term for the time between being exposed to infection and showing first symptoms
Business incubator, for startup businesses
Incubation (psychology), the process of thinking about a problem subconsciously while being involved in other activities
Incubation (ritual), the religious practice of sleeping in a sacred area with the intention of experiencing a divinely-inspired dream or cure
Incubator (microbiology), a process for maintaining a bacterial culture at a particular temperature for a set length of time, in order to measure bacterial growth
Incubation: Time Is Running Out, a 1997 computer game
"Incubator", a 2001 episode of the American TV series Farscape
Incubation for newborn infants, such as in a Neonatal intensive care unit
"Incubation", a song released on the B-side of the Komakino flexi-single in 1980, and on the Substance (Joy Division album) in 1988
Software incubation: software and community verification phase as done in the Apache Software Foundation and OSGeo Foundation

incubation in German: Inkubation

incubation in French: Incubation

incubation in Hebrew: אינקובטור

incubation in Dutch: Incubator

incubation in Japanese: インキュベーター

incubation in Serbian: Инкубација

incubation in Serbo-Croatian: Inkubacija