augment

English

WOTD – 3 March 2010

Etymology

From Middle English augmenten, from Middle French augmenter, from Old French augmenter, from Late Latin augmentare (“to increase”), from Latin augmentum (“an increase, growth”), from augere (“to increase”).

Pronunciation

• Verb:
  • (UK) IPA^(key): /ɔːɡˈmɛnt/
  • (US) IPA^(key): /ɑɡˈmɛnt/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

  • Audio (AU)

    (file)

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

  • Rhymes: -ɛnt
• Noun:
  • (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɔːɡmənt/
  • (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɑɡmənt/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• Hyphenation: aug‧ment

Verb

augment (third-person singular simple present augments, present participle augmenting, simple past and past participle augmented)

1. (transitive) To increase; to make larger or supplement.

   The money from renting out a spare room can augment a salary.

2. (intransitive, reflexive) To grow; to increase; to become greater.
3. (music) To slow the tempo or meter, e.g. for a dramatic or stately passage.
4. (music) To increase an interval, especially the largest interval in a triad, by a half step (chromatic semitone).
5. (grammar, transitive) To add an augment to.

Translations

to increase, make larger or supplement

• Bulgarian: увеличавам (bg) (uveličavam), прибавям (bg) (pribavjam)
• Catalan: augmentar (ca)
• Czech: rozšířit (cs), zvětšit (cs)
• Dutch: vergroten (nl), verhogen (nl), aanvullen (nl)
• Finnish: lisätä (fi), kasvattaa (fi), laajentaa (fi)
• French: augmenter (fr)
• German: vergrößern (de), erhöhen (de), vermehren (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: αὐξάνω (auxánō)

• Ido: augmentar (io)
• Italian: aumentare (it), crescere (it), accrescere (it), potenziare (it)
• Japanese: 増やす (ja) (fuyasu)
• Korean: 증가시키다 (jeunggasikida)
• Latin: augeo (la), accumulō
• Lithuanian: padidinti
• Maori: whakakaurahi, whakarawaka
• Norwegian: øke (no)
• Portuguese: aumentar (pt)
• Russian: (increase/make larger) увели́чивать (ru) impf (uvelíčivatʹ), увели́чить (ru) pf (uvelíčitʹ), (supplement) дополня́ть (ru) impf (dopolnjátʹ), допо́лнить (ru) pf (dopólnitʹ)
• Spanish: aumentar (es), incrementar (es)
• Swedish: öka (sv)
• Turkish: çoğaltmak (tr), artırmak (tr)

to become greater

• Bulgarian: увеличавам се (uveličavam se)
• Catalan: augmentar (ca)
• Czech: nabýt (cs), vzrůst (cs), vyrůst (cs)
• Dutch: verhogen (nl)
• Finnish: kasvaa (fi), laajeta (fi)
• French: s’accroître (fr), s’agrandir (fr)
• German: wachsen (de), zunehmen (de)
• Italian: aumentarsi, accrescersi (it)
• Japanese: 大きくなる (ookiku naru), 増える (ja) (fueru)
• Ottoman Turkish: آرتمق (artmak)
• Portuguese: aumentar (pt)
• Russian: увели́чиваться (ru) impf (uvelíčivatʹsja), увели́читься (ru) pf (uvelíčitʹsja)
• Turkish: çoğalmak (tr), artmak (tr)

to slow the tempo or meter

• Bulgarian: забавям (bg) (zabavjam)
• Catalan: augmentar (ca)
• Dutch: vergroten (nl)
• Finnish: augmentoida, harventaa (fi)
• French: élargir le mouvement

to increase an interval by a half step

• Catalan: augmentar (ca)
• Dutch: vergroten (nl)
• Finnish: laajentaa (fi)
• French: augmenter l’intervalle
• Italian: aggiungere (it)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: (1) ^{(please verify)} augmenter (fr)
• Interlingua: (1) ^{(please verify)} augmentar
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} 増やす (ja) (fuyasu, 1), ^{(please verify)} 増加する (zoukasuru, 1)
• Latin: (1) ^{(please verify)} augmentare
• Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 增加 (zh) (zēngjiā)
• Tagalog: ^{(please verify)} palakihin
• Volapük: (1) ^{(please verify)} xäinön (vo)

References

• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “augment”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.

Noun

augment (plural augments)

1. (grammar) A grammatical prefix
   2. (Indo-European languages) In some languages, a prefix *é- (अ- (a-) in Sanskrit, ἐ- (e-) in Greek) indicating a past tense of a verb.

      The augment is found in Greek, Indo-Iranian, Armenian and Phrygian.

   4. (Celtic languages) Especially Old Irish, a preverb, usually ro-, used to give a verb a resultative or potential meaning.
      • 1987, Kim McCone, chapter IX, in The early Irish verb, 2nd edition, Maynooth: An Sagart, published 1997, →ISBN, section 3.1, page 93:

        Fundamentally the augment characterizes a verbal action viewed from a non-contemporary standpoint, either the moment of speaking (or writing) or a further verbal action.

   6. (Bantu languages) In some languages, an additional vowel prepended to the noun prefix.
2. An increase.

Derived terms

• augmentless

Related terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂ewg-‎ (0 c, 22 e)

• auction
• augmentable
• augmentation
• august
• author
• authorize
• auxiliary

 

Translations

grammar: prefix indicating past tense of verb

• Armenian: նախահավելված (hy) (naxahavelvac)
• Czech: augment m
• Dutch: augment n
• Finnish: augmentti (fi)
• French: augment (fr) m
• German: Augment (de) n, Augmentum n
• Ido: augmento (io)
• Lithuanian: augmentas m
• Polish: augment (pl) m

See also

• Appendix:Glossary#augment

Further reading

• “augment”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “augment”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “augment”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• mutagen, negatum

Catalan

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin augmentum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [əwɡˈmen], [əwˈmen]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [əwɡˈment], [əwˈment]
• IPA^(key): (Valencian) [awɡˈment], [awˈment]

Noun

augment m (plural augments)

1. increase, rise, rising
2. (linguistics) augment
3. (optics) magnification

Related terms

• augmentar
• augmentatiu

Further reading

• “augment” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin augmentum or another European language.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑu̯xˈmɛnt/
• Hyphenation: aug‧ment
• Rhymes: -ɛnt

Noun

augment n (plural augmenten)

1. (Indo-European grammar) augment (prefix before a past-tense verb)

Related terms

• augmentatie
• augmenteren

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin augmentum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /oɡ.mɑ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

augment m (plural augments)

1. (medieval law) part of an estate which a widow could inherit
   • Est aussi conclud et accordé qu'au lieu de douaire dont l'on a accoustumé d'user en France, ladite dame Elisabeth aura pour augment le dot dudit mariage selon l'usage des pais du roy d'Espagne, 166,666 escus d'or sol deux tiers.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

     (marriage contract of the prince of Spain and Ms Elisabeth of France)

     note: this quote is in Middle French

2. (grammar) augment

   L’augment syllabique consiste en l’addition d’une syllabe ; l’augment temporel, dans le changement d’une brève en longue.

   Syllabic augment consists of the addition of a syllable; temporal augment in changing it from short to long.

Related terms

• augmenter

Further reading

• “augment”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Polish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin augmentum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaw.ɡmɛnt/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -awɡmɛnt
• Syllabification: aug‧ment

Noun

augment m inan

1. (grammar) augment (suffix in some Indo-European languages indicating the past tense)

Declension

Declension of augment

	singular	plural
nominative	augment	augmenty
genitive	augmentu	augmentów
dative	augmentowi	augmentom
accusative	augment	augmenty
instrumental	augmentem	augmentami
locative	augmencie	augmentach
vocative	augmencie	augmenty

Related terms

adjectives

• augmentatywny

 

nouns

• augmentacja
• augmentatiwum
• augmentatyw

 

Further reading

• augment in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French augment or Latin augmentum.

Noun

augment n (plural augmente)

1. increase, growth, augmentation

Declension

Declension of augment

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) augment	augmentul	(niște) augmente	augmentele
genitive/dative	(unui) augment	augmentului	(unor) augmente	augmentelor
vocative	augmentule		augmentelor