1610s, "brooding," from Latin incubationem (nominative incubatio) "a laying upon eggs," noun of action from past participle stem of incubare "to hatch," literally "to lie on, rest on," from in- "on" (see in- (2)) + cubare "to lie" (see cubicle). The literal sense of "sitting on eggs to hatch them" first recorded in English 1640s.
权威例句
1. Male albatrosses share in the incubation of eggs.
雄性信天翁参与孵卵。
2. The four stages of creative thought are preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification.
创造性思考的四个阶段是准备 、 沉思 、 启迪 、 求证.
3. The illness has an incubation period of up to 11 days.
该病有长达11天的潜伏期。
4. The incubation time for incipient precipitation is often a minute or more.