incubation period

Meaning

Noun

• The time elapsed between an exposure to a pathogenic organism, a chemical or radiation, and the appearance of signs and symptoms.

Origin

• Since 1850s, from earlier period of incubation, attested in that now obsolete sense since late 1820s, which is a (attested since mid-1810s), itself a calque from Latin periodus incubationis (attested since 1770s).