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Original · left

Incubator (egg)

First in use: ancient / pre-modern
Duplicate · right

Business incubator

First in use: c. 1959

Incubator / Incubator (egg) / Business incubator

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Canonical todayMeasuring…
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Duplicate share · 12 mo—
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Colour keyGrey · original meaningGreen · duplicate meaningAmber · contested (40–60%)How colours work

Hatching chicks vs. hatching companies.

Which meaning of Incubator is the original, and which one is the duplicate riding on its name? Incubator (egg) came first (ancient / pre-modern). Business incubator arrived in 1959. The data below shows which one owns the word now.

Wikipedia pageviews since 2015

Incubator (egg)Business incubator
English Wikipedia pageviews since July 2015 load here.

Duplicate's share of attention

Green line = duplicate's % · above 60 it owns the word · below 40 the original does

Share-of-attention line loads here.

The case for each meaning

Sourced definitions, usage stats and quotes

Original · ancient / pre-modern

Incubator (egg)

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Duplicate · c. 1959

Business incubator

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More duplicated terms

Business & startups