incipiente

incipient

adjective een-see-PYEN-teh Rare

Origin: From Latin incipiens (beginning), present participle of incipere.

Also means

budding

Usage Note

Incipiente is a formal adjective describing something in its earliest stage of development — una democracia incipiente (a fledgling democracy). It is invariable for gender (un movimiento incipiente, una crisis incipiente). It is a false friend for English speakers only in that it is rarer in Spanish conversation than its English cognate 'incipient' already is.

Examples

"Detectaron una incipiente inflamación en la zona."

Natural Translation

They detected an incipient inflammation in the area.

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