Incumbent
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary · Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
Prom the verb incumbo, that is, to be diligently resident; and when it is written encumbent, it is falsely written.
Co. Litt. 119b.
See Termes de la Ley. One who is in possession of an office and is legally authorized to discharge the duties of that office; as, the present incumbent.
11 Ohio 50.
In Ecclesiastical Law. A clerk resident on his benefice with cure. He is so called because he does, or ought to, bend the whole of his studies to his duties.