Other forms: incidences
Incidence is how often something occurs in a population. A high incidence, the incidence of the disease, falling incidence.
In public health it has a precise meaning and is not the same as prevalence: incidence counts new cases in a period, while prevalence counts everybody who has it. It is also a different word from incidents.
1nounincidenceHow often something occurs in a population.
“There is a high incidence of heart disease in the region.”
incidence is a rate.
Latin incidentia means a falling upon, from incidere, to fall on, from in- plus cadere, to fall.
Proto-Indo-European
*ḱh₂d-
Latin
incidens
Medieval Latin
incidentia — a falling upon
Middle French
incidence
English, today
incidence
Built from
From Middle French incidence, from Medieval Latin incidentia (“a falling upon”), from Latin incidens, present participle of incidere (“to fall upon”), from in (“on”) + cadere (“to fall”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA