incentive

See also: incentivé

English

Etymology

From Medieval Latin incentivus (“that strikes up or sets the tune”), from incinere (“to strike up”), from in (“in, on”) + canere (“to sing”). The formation appears to have been influenced by incendere ' to set on fire'.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˈsɛntɪv/
• Rhymes: -ɛntɪv

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

Translations

something that motivates

• Bulgarian: подбуда (bg) f (podbuda), стимул (bg) m (stimul)
• Catalan: incentiu (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 刺激 (zh) (cìjī), 誘因 (zh), 诱因 (zh) (yòuyīn)

• Dutch: drijfveer (nl) f, aansporing (nl), incentief 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
• 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)
• Persian: مشوق‎‎ (fa) (mošavveq)
• Polish: zachęta (pl) f
• 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
• Turkish: teşvik (tr)

cash bonus

• Bulgarian: премия (bg) f (premija)
• Catalan: incentiu (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 獎勵 (zh), 奖励 (zh) (jiǎnglì), 報酬 (zh), 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
• German: Bonus (de) m

• Hebrew: תמריץ‎‎ (tamritz)
• Hungarian: ösztönző (hu)
• Japanese: 報酬 (ja) (ほうしゅう, hōshū), 賞与 (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.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Dr. H. More

     Competency is the most incentive to industry.

2. Serving to kindle or set on fire.
   • (Can we date this quote?) John Milton

     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, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Anagrams

• Vicentine

---

Latin

Adjective

incentīve

1. vocative masculine singular of incentīvus

---

Portuguese

Verb

incentive

1. first-person singular present subjunctive of incentivar
2. third-person singular present subjunctive of incentivar
3. first-person singular imperative of incentivar
4. third-person singular imperative of incentivar

---

Spanish

Verb

incentive

1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of incentivar.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of incentivar.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of incentivar.