Both Uses of
incumbent
in
The Scarlet Letter
- Much and deservedly to my own discredit, therefore, and considerably to the detriment of my official conscience, they continued, during my incumbency, to creep about the wharves, and loiter up and down the Custom-House steps.
p. 15.7incumbency = term in an official position
- It is essential, in order to form a complete estimate of the advantages of official life, to view the incumbent at the in-coming of a hostile administration.
p. 39.4 *incumbent = person who currently holds an official position
Definitions:
-
(1)
(incumbent as in: the incumbent governor) the person who currently holds an official position
-
(2)
(incumbent as in: incumbent upon her to) necessary (for someone) as a duty or responsibility
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(3)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much more rarely (and generally archaically) "incumbent" can also mean resting, leaning, or bent downward. For example:- "two incumbent figures, gracefully leaning upon it"
- "the incumbent geological formation"
- "the incumbent load"
- "the bird's incumbent toe"