incident

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

• n. A definite and separate occurrence; an event. See Synonyms at occurrence.
• n. A usually minor event or condition that is subordinate to another.
• n. Something contingent on or related to something else.
• n. An occurrence or event that interrupts normal procedure or precipitates a crisis: an international incident.
• adj. Tending to arise or occur as a result or accompaniment: "There is a professional melancholy . . . incident to the occupation of a tailor” ( Charles Lamb).
• adj. Related to or dependent on another thing.
• adj. Physics Falling upon or striking a surface: incident radiation.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

• n. An event or occurrence.
• n. A relatively minor event that is incidental to, or related to others
• n. An event that may cause or causes an interruption or a crisis
• n. In safety, an incident of workplace illness or injury
• adj. Arising as the result of an event, inherent
• adj. (of a stream of particles or radiation) falling on or striking a surface (e.g. "The incident light illuminated the surface.")

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English

• adj. Falling or striking upon, as a ray of light upon a reflecting surface.
• adj. Coming or happening accidentally; not in the usual course of things; not in connection with the main design; not according to expectation; casual; fortuitous.
• adj. Liable to happen; apt to occur; befalling; hence, naturally happening or appertaining.
• adj. Dependent upon, or appertaining to, another thing, called the principal.
• n. That which falls out or takes place; an event; casualty; occurrence.
• n. That which happens aside from the main design; an accidental or subordinate action or event.
• n. Something appertaining to, passing with, or depending on, another, called the principal.

from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

• Falling or striking upon something, as a ray of light or a projectile; impinging or acting upon anything from without.
• Likely to happen; apt to occur; hence, naturally appertaining; necessarily conjoined.
• Appertaining to or following another thing; conjoined as a subordinate to a principal thing; appurtenant: as, rent is incident to a reversion.
• Subordinate; casual; incidental.
• n. That which falls out or takes place; an occurrence; something which takes place in connection with an event or a series of events of greater importance.
• n. A thing necessarily or frequently depending upon, appertaining to, or legally passing with another that is the principal or more important; a natural or characteristic accompaniment.
• n. In decorative art, the representation of any action, often much conventionalized, but still to be recognized: thus, a frieze may consist of a number of incidents relating collectively some historical event.
• Same as afferent
• : noting the nerves which convey impressions from the periphery to the nervous centers.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• adj. (sometimes followed by `to') minor or casual or subordinate in significance or nature or occurring as a chance concomitant or consequence
• n. a public disturbance
• n. a single distinct event
• adj. falling or striking of light rays on something