From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishincipientin‧cip‧i‧ent /ɪnˈsɪpiənt/ adjective [only before noun] formalSTART TO HAPPEN, EXIST ETCstarting to happen or exista sign of incipient madnessExamples from the Corpusincipient• I am pretty sure that these noises do not proceed from incipient compression failures.• an incipient drinking problem• Yet despite these incipientindustrialconcentrations, the economy of Piedmont remained overwhelmingly agrarian and rural.• Some assiduously fillnotebooks with writing: incipientnovelists or thesiswriters?• The wind came howling down the street full of rain and incipientsnow.• The incipientspouses are of course excited by the adventure, the new life, heralded by marriage.Originincipient(1600-1700)Latin present participle of incipere; → INCEPTION