incentive

incentive

See also: Incentive and incentivé

English

Etymology

From Medieval Latin incentīvus (“that strikes up or sets the tune”), from incinō (“to strike up”), from in- (“in, on”) + canō (“to sing”). The formation appears to have been influenced by incendō (“to set on fire”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˈsɛntɪv/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛntɪv
• Hyphenation: in‧cen‧tive

Noun

incentive (plural incentives)

1. Something that motivates, rouses, or encourages.
   • 2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly‎, volume 188, number 26, page 36:

     It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: perhaps out of a desire to escape the gravity of this world or to get a preview of the next; […].

   I have no incentive to do housework right now.

2. A bonus or reward, often monetary, to work harder.

   Management offered the sales team a $500 incentive for each car sold.

Antonyms

• disincentive

Derived terms

• incentivise
• incentivize
• tax incentive

Descendants

• → German: Incentive

Translations

something that motivates

Bikol Central: tandan Bulgarian: подбуда (bg) f (podbuda), стимул (bg) m (stimul) Catalan: incentiu (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 刺激 (zh) (cìjī), 誘因／诱因 (zh) (yòuyīn) Danish: incitament n, gulerod (da) c Dutch: drijfveer (nl) f, aansporing (nl), incentief (nl) n, stimulans (nl) m, prikkel (nl) m Esperanto: stimulo, igilo, motivigo, konvinkilo Finnish: kannustin (fi), kannuste (fi), insentiivi, kiihoke (fi), virike (fi), yllyke (fi), porkkana (fi) French: intérêt (fr) m, motivation (fr) f German: Anreiz (de) m, Ansporn (de) m, Incentive (de) n Greek: κίνητρο (el) n (kínitro) Hebrew: תמריץ‎ (tamritz) Hungarian: ösztönző (hu), ösztönzés (hu) Irish: spreagadh m Japanese: 動機 (ja) (どうき, dōki), 誘因 (ja) (ゆういん, yūin), 刺激 (ja) (しげき, shigeki) Latin: incitāmentum n Persian: مشوق‎ (fa) (mošavveq) Polish: zachęta (pl) f, bodziec (pl) m Portuguese: incentivo (pt) m, motivação (pt) f Russian: сти́мул (ru) m (stímul), моти́в (ru) m (motív), мотива́ция (ru) f (motivácija) Slovene: motivacija f, spodbuda f Spanish: incentivo (es) m, aliciente (es) Swedish: morot (sv) c, incitament (sv) n Thai: สิ่งจูงใจ (th) Turkish: teşvik (tr)

cash bonus

Bikol Central: tandan Bulgarian: премия (bg) f (premija) Catalan: incentiu (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 獎勵／奖励 (zh) (jiǎnglì), 報酬／报酬 (zh) (bàochóu) Czech: pobídka f Dutch: bonus (nl) m, premie (nl) f Finnish: palkkio (fi), kannustuspalkkio, tulospalkkio, bonus (fi) French: récompense (fr) f, prime (fr) f German: Bonus (de) m Hebrew: תמריץ‎ (tamritz) Hungarian: ösztönző (hu) Indonesian: insentif (id) Japanese: 報酬 (ja) (ほうしゅう, hōshū), 賞与 (ja) (しょうよ, shōyo) Polish: bonus (pl) m, premia (pl) f Portuguese: incentivo (pt) m Russian: поощре́ние (ru) n (pooščrénije), пре́мия (ru) f (prémija), бо́нус (ru) m (bónus), вознагражде́ние (ru) n (voznagraždénije) Spanish: incentivo (es) m Turkish: teşvik primi

Adjective

incentive (comparative more incentive, superlative most incentive)

1. Inciting; encouraging or moving; rousing to action; stimulating.
   • 1667, attributed to Richard Allestree, The Causes of the Decay of Christian Piety. […], London: […] R. Norton for T. Garthwait, […], OCLC 1114833197:

     Competency is of all other proportions the most incentive to industry.

2. Serving to kindle or set on fire.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:

     Part incentive reed / Provide, pernicious with one touch of fire.

Further reading

• incentive in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• incentive in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911

Anagrams

• Vicentine

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Latin

Adjective

incentīve

1. vocative masculine singular of incentīvus

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Portuguese

Verb

incentive

1. inflection of incentivar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

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Spanish

Verb

incentive

1. inflection of incentivar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative