Word Confusion: Incidence versus Incidents

Posted December 13, 2018 by kddidit in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
27 Nov 2022

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Granted incidence is more of a scientific term than one widely used, and it still should not be confused with incidents. Of course, it doesn’t help that this pair of confusions are heterographs (a subset of homophone).

An incidence measures the spread and frequency of a similar event that occurs over a period of time, i.e., an incidence of measles now that parents refuse to allow vaccinations for their children or an incidence of malaria, an incidence of vandalism, etc.

An incident is a specific event that occurs, i.e., did you hear about the incident at Mary’s house last night? Or there was an incident down at the 7-11, an incident at school, etc.

When there is more than one incident, it can become an incidence, i.e., an incidence of theft in the neighborhood would mean there were a number of incidents (or thefts) in the neighborhood within a certain period of time.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Incidence	Incidents
Incidence of Prostate Cancer Cases 2011–2015 courtesy of the National Cancer Institute.	Terrorist Incidents Map of India 1970–2016 is Phoenix7777’s own work under the CC BY-SA 4.0, ODbL or CC BY-SA 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
Part of Grammar:
Noun, mass ¹, ² Plural: incidences	Morpheme: incident Adjective; Noun Plural for the noun: incidents
Rate or frequency at which something happens The occurrence, rate, or frequency of a disease, crime, or something else undesirable ¹ The way in which the burden of a tax falls upon the population [Optics, Physics] The intersection of a line, or something moving in a straight line, such as a beam of light, with a surface ² [Physics; angle of incidence] The angle which an incident line or ray makes with a perpendicular to the surface at the point of incidence A falling upon, affecting, or befalling Occurrence The fact or the manner of being incident [Geometry] Partial coincidence of two figures, as of a line and a plane containing it	Specific event that occurs Adjective: [Predic.; incident to] Likely to happen because of Resulting from [Law] Attaching to [Especially of light or other radiation] Falling on or striking something [Physics] Relating to incidence Noun: An event or occurrence A violent event, such as a fracas or assault A hostile clash between forces of rival countries [incident of] A case or instance of something happening The occurrence of dangerous or exciting things
Examples:
There is an increased incidence of cancer. The entire incidence falls on the workers. The medical field, as a whole, has noted the high incidence of heart disease in men over 40. The increase in sugar consumption has skyrocketed along with the incidence of diabetes and obesity. The incidence of murder that Sunday afternoon shocked the sleepy village. The optical output to which a given beam travels depends on the beam’s respective direction of incidence. One of the measures of disease frequency includes the relationships between incidence and prevalence. “This is because, in such a case, it is set at an angle of incidence” (Barber). Incidence can thus occur between a point and a line, between a point and a plane, between two lines, between a line and a plane, or between two planes, but not between two points.	Adjective: The changes were incident to economic development. The costs were properly incident to a suit for foreclosure or redemption. With increasing beam incident angle, the interaction volume is reduced, but the sputtering yield γ increases. R_p = projected path length (along the trajectory of the incident beam) The angle between an incident ray, which is a ray of light striking a surface, and the ray reflected from the surface is the angle of incidence. Noun: There have been several amusing incidents. One person was stabbed in the incident. There have been a number of incidents between Russia and Ukraine that could lead to war. A single incident of rudeness does not support a finding of contemptuous conduct. The winter passed without incident.
Derivatives:
	Adjective: incidental Adverb: incidentally Noun: incidental, incidentals
History of the Word:
Dates from the early 19th century. Late Middle English denoting a casual or subordinate event. It’s from the Old French, or from the medieval Latin incidentia, which is from the Latin incidere meaning fall upon, happen to.	Late Middle English, via the Old French from the Latin incident- meaning falling upon, happening to, from the verb incidere, which is from in- (upon) + cadere (to fall).

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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