Where does “crescent” come from?
Crescent comes from Middle English cressaunt, from Anglo-Norman cressaunt, from Old French creistre, from Latin cresco meaning to grow or increase, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱer-.
crescent (English): The figure of the moon as it appears in its first...
Definitions
- The figure of the moon as it appears in its first...
Ancestry of “crescent”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | cressaunt | crescent shape or heraldic charge |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | cressaunt | — |
| 3 | Old French | creissant | present participle of creistre; crescent |
| 4 | Latin | crēscēns | coming to be |
| 5 | Latin | crēscō | to rise, grow, grow up; prosper, thrive; increase, multiply, augment |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | krēskō | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱer- | to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | kr̥- | to turn, to bend |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ker- | army |