crescent

C2+ Topic:Astronomy & Space

US /ˈkrɛsənt/ UK /ˈkrɛsənt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a curved shape like the partly lit moon

A thin crescent moon hung above the rooftops.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a curved shape like the... sicklelunedemilune

Word family

Derived forms crescentic

Related forms crescendo increase accrue

Simplified etymology

Crescent comes from the Latin phrase luna crescens, “growing moon,” used for the thin curve of the waxing moon. Crescens is from crescere, “to grow.” The word later broadened from the moon to anything having a similar curved shape.

Etymology

From Old French 'creissant', from Latin 'crēscēns', present participle of 'crēscere' ('to grow, increase') — originally describing the waxing (growing) moon.

creissant Old French crēscere Latin *ḱer- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Astronomy & Space Word Formation & Derivatives General Vocabulary

External links

# crescent

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈkrɛsənt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkrɛsənt/

## Meanings
1. a curved shape like the partly lit moon

## Examples
- A thin crescent moon hung above the rooftops.

## Synonyms
- sickle
- lune
- demilune

## Derived Forms
- crescentic

## Related Forms
- crescendo
- increase
- accrue

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: creissant
- Root: crēscere
- Root: *ḱer-

## Etymology
From Old French 'creissant', from Latin 'crēscēns', present participle of 'crēscere' ('to grow, increase') — originally describing the waxing (growing) moon.

## AI Etymology
Crescent is from Old French 'creissant', from Latin 'crēscēns', present participle of 'crēscere' ('to grow, increase') — originally describing the waxing (growing) moon. Important recorded forms include creissant (Old French), crēscere (Latin), and *ḱer- (Proto-Indo-European). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers a curved shape like the partly lit moon. The wider family includes derived forms such as crescentic and related words such as crescendo, increase, and accrue.

## Topics
- Astronomy & Space
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- General Vocabulary

markdown