Incubation /(?)/

In·cu·ba·tion

Incubation

n.
  1. A sitting on eggs for the purpose of hatching young; a brooding on, or keeping warm, (eggs) to develop the life within, by any process.
  2. The development of a disease from its causes, or its period of incubation. (See below.) (Med.)
  3. A sleeping in a consecrated place for the purpose of dreaming oracular dreams.
  4. The maintenance (of a living organism, such as microorganisms or a premature baby) in appropriate conditions, such as of temperature, humidity, or atmospheric composition, for growth.
  5. The gradual development in some interior environment, until fully formed; as, the incubation time for developing a new drug may be longer than ten years from its first discovery.

Phrases & Compounds
Period of incubation
the period which elapses between exposure to the causes of an infectious disease and the attack resulting from it; the time during which an infective agent must grow in the body before producing overt symptoms of disease.