in|cu|ba|tor

in|cu|ba|tor «IHN kyuh _BAY tuhr, IHNG-», noun.

1. a box or chamber for keeping eggs warm, and properly supplied with moisture and oxygen, so that they will hatch.

2. any similar box or chamber. Very small babies and premature babies are sometimes kept for a time in incubators.

3. an apparatus in which cultures of microorganisms are developed.

4. Figurative. a place for developing or nurturing: »

The California junior colleges are incubators for the big-time football universities of the Pacific Coast (New York Times).

╂[< New Latin incubator < Latin incubātor one who sleeps (in a temple) < incubāre incubate]