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 (Southern England):

    (file)

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

Noun

incentive (plural incentives)

1. Something that motivates, rouses, or encourages.

   I have no incentive to do housework right now.

   • 2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly‎^[1], 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; […].

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

• eco-incentive
• incentivise
• incentivize
• tax incentive

Descendants

• → German: Incentive

Translations

something that motivates

• Bikol Central: tandan (bcl)
• 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), поощре́ние (ru) n (pooščrénije), толчо́к (ru) m (tolčók)
• Slovene: motivacija f, spodbuda f
• Spanish: incentivo (es) m, aliciente (es)
• Swedish: morot (sv) c, incitament (sv) n
• Thai: สิ่งจูงใจ (th)
• Turkish: teşvik (tr)
• Ukrainian: сти́мул m (stýmul), спону́ка f (sponúka)

cash bonus

• Bikol Central: tandan (bcl)
• 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
• Ukrainian: заохо́чення n (zaoxóčennja), пре́мія (uk) f (prémija), бо́нус m (bónus), винагоро́да f (vynahoróda)

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:

     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], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

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

Further reading

• “incentive”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “incentive”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Vicentine

Galician

Verb

incentive

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

Latin

Adjective

incentīve

1. vocative masculine singular of incentīvus

Portuguese

Verb

incentive

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

Spanish

Verb

incentive

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