incumbent

adj

1. Chiefly followed by on or upon: leaning, or lying, reclining, or resting, on something else.

   “[I]f the great Doore, be Arched, vvith ſome braue Head, cut in fine Stone or Marble for the Key of the Arch, and tvvo Incumbent Figures gracefully leaning vpon it, tovvards one another, as if they meant to conferre; I ſhould thinke this a ſufficient entertainement, for the firſt Reception, of any Iudicious Sight, […]”

   “[U]pon the tops of high Mountains, the Air vvhich bears againſt the reſtagnant Quick-ſilver, is leſs preſſ'd by the leſs ponderous incumbent Air; and conſequently is not able totally to hinder the deſcent of ſo tall and heavy a Cylinder of Quick-ſilver, as at the bottom of ſuch Mountains did but maintain an Æquilibrium vvith the incumbent Atmoſphere.”

   “Then with expanded wings he ſtears his flight / Aloft, incumbent on the dusky Air / That felt unuſual weight, […]”

   “Here, as ’tis ſaid, the Rebel Giants lye, / And vvhen to move th’incumbent Load they try, / Aſcending Vapours on the Day prevail, / The Sun looks ſickly, and the Skie grovv pale.”

   “And, rising from his incumbent posture, he sought to force the end of the weed [a cigar] between the teeth of the dog.”

2. Chiefly followed by on or upon: leaning, or lying, reclining, or resting, on something else.

   “[T]he anther either looks inwards or outwards. When it is turned inwards, or is fixed to that side of the filament which looks towards the pistil or centre of the flower, the anther is incumbent or intorse, as in Magnolia and the Water-Lily. When turned outwards, or fixed to the outer side of the filament, it is extorse, as in the Tulip-tree.”

3. Chiefly followed by on or upon: leaning, or lying, reclining, or resting, on something else.

   “the incumbent toe of a bird”

4. (figuratively)Being the current holder of an office or a title; specifically (Christianity, obsolete), of an ecclesiastical benefice.

   “If the incumbent senator dies, he is replaced by a person appointed by the governor.”

   “But whether parishes,—as usually understood for places bounded in regard of the profits from the people therein, payable only to a pastor incumbent there;—I say, whether such parishes were extant in this age, may well be questioned, as inconsistent with the community of ecclesiastic profits, which then seemed jointly enjoyed by the bishop and his clergy.”

   “Analysts said that, while China sought to wield political influence in Vancouver, whatever role it played was unlikely to have swung the vote. ¶ Kennedy Stewart, the incumbent mayor and Mr. [Ken] Sim's left-wing rival, agreed. "Chinese interference isn't the primary reason I lost," he said. "But it may have been a contributing factor." He received 29 percent of the vote to Mr. Sim's 51 percent.”

   “Sunday's results confirmed that Uruguay had followed a global trend of incumbent parties losing vote share compared with the previous election, as the biggest year for elections in history comes to an end.”

5. (figuratively)Oppressive, pressuring.

   “The North muſt again have been alarmed, and agitated, by the invaſion of the Huns; and the nations vvho retreated before them, muſt have preſſed vvith incumbent vveight on the confines of Germany.”

6. (figuratively)Followed by on or upon: imposed on one as an obligation, especially due to one's office or position.

   “Proper behaviour is incumbent on all holders of positions of trust.”

   “Certainly all men truly Zelous, vvill moſt induſtriously endeavor to perform the first kind of good VVorks alvvaies; thoſe, I mean, that are incumbent on all Christians.”

   “But, as for ſolid, corporeal Subſtances, I deſire you to ſhevv vvhere Moſes makes any mention of them; and, if they ſhou'd be mentioned by him, or any other inſpired VVriter, it vvou'd ſtill be incumbent on you to ſhevv, thoſe VVords vvere not taken in the vulgar Acceptation, or an unknovvn Quiddity, vvith an abſolute Exiſtence.”

   “He begged Mrs. Tope's pardon when she found it incumbent on her to correct him in every detail of his summary of the facts, but pleaded that he was merely a single buffer getting through life upon his means as idly as he could, and that so many people were so constantly making away with so many other people, as to render it difficult for a buffer of an easy temper to preserve the circumstances of the several cases unmixed in his mind.”

   “When the fires finally come for Whistler, the evacuation process will be hectic, to put it lightly. It is incumbent upon all of us to ensure we're well prepared.”

7. (figuratively, poetic)Hanging or leaning over.

   “Hath the cleft Centre open'd vvide to Thee? / Death's inmoſt Chambers didſt Thou ever ſee? / E'er knock at his tremendous Gate, and vvade / To the black Portal thro' th' incumbent Shade?”

   “[T]he ſpreading beech, that o'er the ſtream / Incumbent hung, […]”

   “[M]any a rock, / Hurled by primæval earthquake shock / From Benvenue's grey summit wild, / And here, in random ruin piled, / They frowned incumbent o'er the spot, / And formed the rugged sylvan grot.”

   “Swift as an arrow in its flight / The Ship shot through the incumbent night; […]”

8. (figuratively, obsolete)Putting much effort into an activity or some work.

   “And lovve menne ſpiritually are ſuche, as are incumbente and dooe reſt on filthy or vile and tranſitory thynges.”

   “[H]e foresaw not that he was losing for ever the opportunity of acquiring habits of firm and incumbent application, of gaining the art of controuling, directing, and concentrating the powers of his own mind for earnest investigation,—an art far more essential than even that learning which is the primary object of study.”

9. (figuratively, obsolete)Weighing on one's mind.

   “Ambition, and Covetouſneſſe are Paſſions alſo that are perpetually incumbent, and preſſing; vvhereas Reaſon is not perpetually preſent, to reſiſt them: and therefore vvhenſoever the hope of impunity appears, their effects proceed.”

noun

1. The current holder of an office or title; (specifically, Christianity) the holder of an ecclesiastical benefice.

   “He has always remained friendly to me, though before his promotion, when he was an incumbent of this diocese, we had a little controversy about the Bible Society.”

   “But if they had waited about the store to see what would happen when he arrived who until last night anyway must have still believed himself the incumbent, they were disappointed. […] A few days later they learned that the new smith was living in the house […]”

   “Mr [Barack] Obama's problems were partly structural. An incumbent must defend the realities and compromises of government, while a challenger is freer to promise the earth, details to follow. Mr Obama's odd solution was to play both incumbent and challenger, jumping from a defence of his record to indignation at such ills as over-crowded classrooms and tax breaks for big oil companies.”

   “Just as interest grew under previous incumbent-but-one Grant Shapps, so interest could wane under new Transport Secretary Mark Harper.”

   “But the prospect of a Presidential election as a contest of the ancients is not a heartening one, and the anxieties it provokes cannot be dismissed as ageism. What are younger people, especially, to make of a political culture in which incumbents cling so tenaciously to their seats? The median age for senators is now around sixty-five. Mitt Romney, announcing his retirement, at the age of seventy-six, wasn't wrong to declare that it is time for a new generation of leaders to take the helm.”

2. A holder of a position as supplier to a market or market segment that allows the holder to earn above-normal profits.

   “American capitalism is becoming like its European cousin: established firms with the scale and scope to deal with a growing thicket of regulations are doing well, but new companies are withering on the vine or selling themselves to incumbents.”