crescent
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- (curved street): cres. (abbreviation)
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English cressaunt, from Anglo-Norman cressaunt and Old French creissant (“crescent of the moon”) (French croissant), from Latin crēscēns, present active participle of crēscō (“arise, thrive”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱreh₁- (“to grow”). See Old Armenian սերիմ (serim, “be born”) and սերեմ (serem, “bring forth”), Ancient Greek κόρη (kórē, “girl”) and κούρος (koúros, “boy”), Latin creare (“produce, create, bring forth”) and Ceres (“goddess of agriculture”). Doublet of croissant.
The pronunciation with /z/ is a comparatively recent innovation due to the influence of words such as pheasant and present.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈkɹɛ.zənt/, /ˈkɹɛ.sənt/
Audio (UK) (file)
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈkɹɛ.sənt/, /ˈkɹɛ.zənt/
- Rhymes: -ɛsənt, -ɛzənt
Noun[edit]
crescent (plural crescents)
- The figure of the moon as it appears between its first or last quarter and the new moon, with concave and convex edges terminating in points.
- Something shaped like a crescent, especially:
- A curved pastry.
- A curved street, often presenting a continuous façade, as of row houses.
- (Islam) A representation of crescent used as a symbol of Islam.
- Turkish flag features a white star and crescent on red base.
- (New Zealand) A crescent spanner.
- (historical) Any of three orders of knighthood conferred upon foreigners to whom Turkey might be indebted for valuable services.
- 1880, Elizabeth Stone, Sebastiani receives publicly the Sultan's thanks , and is decorated with the Order of the Crescent:
- Sebastiani receives publicly the Sultan's thanks, and is decorated with the Order of the Crescent
- (heraldry) The emblem of the waxing Moon with horns directed upward, when used in a coat of arms; often used as a mark of cadency to distinguish a second son and his descendants.
- A crescentspot butterfly.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
|
|
|
Adjective[edit]
crescent (not comparable)
- (dated, rare) marked by an increase; waxing, like the Moon.
- c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604, OCLC 760858814, [Act I, scene iii]:
- For nature creſſant does not grovve alone / In thevvs and bulkes, but as this temple vvaxes, / The invvard ſervice of the minde and ſoule / Grovves vvide vvithal, […]
- For a human being's vital functions, increasing, do not grow alone / In physical development and bulk, but as this "temple" [i.e., the body] waxes, / The inward operation of the mind and soul / Grows wide with them.
- 1835, Alfred Tennyson, “Locksley Hall”, in Poems. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Edward Moxon, […], published 1842, OCLC 1008064829:
- O, I see the crescent promise of my spirit hath not set.
- 1928, Edward A. Ross, World Drift, New York; London: The Century Co., page v:
- crescent problems which have to be faced by a large part of humanity
- Shaped like a crescent.
- 1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:
- Astarte, queen of heaven, with crescent horns.
Antonyms[edit]
Translations[edit]
|
|
Verb[edit]
crescent (third-person singular simple present crescents, present participle crescenting, simple past and past participle crescented)
- (transitive) To form into a crescent, or something resembling a crescent.
- 1809, Anna Seward, “Letter VI. 195”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):
- A dark wood crescents more than half the lawn
- (transitive) To adorn with crescents.
Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “crescent” in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)
Latin[edit]
Verb[edit]
crēscent
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱer- (grow)
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Anglo-Norman
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English doublets
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɛsənt
- Rhymes:English/ɛsənt/2 syllables
- Rhymes:English/ɛzənt
- Rhymes:English/ɛzənt/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Islam
- English terms with usage examples
- New Zealand English
- English terms with historical senses
- English terms with quotations
- en:Heraldic charges
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- English dated terms
- English terms with rare senses
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- en:Roads
- en:Turkey
- Latin non-lemma forms
- Latin verb forms