Words are weird.

I was thinking about how unpleasant incumbent brands tend to be, compared to lean, fresh, inspired challengers. Then I became curious about the etymology of the word “incumbent”.

Incumbent: ORIGIN late Middle English (as a noun): from Anglo-Latin incumbens, incumbent-, from Latin incumbere ‘lie or lean on,’ from in– ‘upon’ + a verb related to cubare ‘lie.’

Incubus: ORIGIN Middle English : late Latin form of Latin incubo ‘nightmare,’ from incubare ‘lie on’.

So far so good. Incumbents, lying around, leaning heavily, incubi, nightmares — that all fits. But then:

Incubate: ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Latin incubat– ‘lain on,’ from the verb incubare, from in- ‘upon’ + cubare ‘to lie.