crescent

English

a crescent shape

a crescent (street)

Alternative forms

• (curved street): cres. (abbreviation)

Etymology

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

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkɹɛ.zənt/, /ˈkɹɛ.sənt/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkɹɛ.sənt/, /ˈkɹɛ.zənt/
• Rhymes: -ɛsənt, -ɛzənt

Noun

crescent (plural crescents)

1. 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.
2. Something shaped like a crescent, especially:
   1. A curved pastry.
   2. A curved street, often presenting a continuous façade, as of row houses.
3. (Islam) A representation of crescent used as a symbol of Islam.

   Turkish flag features a white star and crescent on red base.

4. (New Zealand) A crescent spanner.
5. (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

6. (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.
7. A crescentspot butterfly.

Derived terms

• Crescent City
• crescent roll
• crescent-shaped

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• Crescent Springs
• Fertile Crescent
• Red Crescent

Translations

figure of the moon

• Arabic: هِلَال‎ m (hilāl)

  Egyptian Arabic: هلال‎ m (hilāl)

• Armenian: մահիկ (hy) (mahik)
• Avestan: 𐬀𐬧𐬙𐬀𐬭𐬨𐬁𐬵‎ (aṇtarmāh)
• Azerbaijani: aypara, hilal
• Belarusian: паўме́сяц m (paŭmjésjac)
• Bulgarian: полуме́сец m (polumésec)
• Catalan: mitja lluna (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 新月 (zh) (xīnyuè), 月牙 (zh) (yuèyá)

• Czech: půlměsíc (cs) m
• Danish: halvmåne c
• Dutch: maansikkel (nl), wassenaar (nl) m
• Estonian: kuusirp
• Finnish: sirppi (fi), kuunsirppi (fi)
• French: croissant (fr)
• Galician: crecente (gl)
• Georgian: ნახევარმთვარე (naxevarmtvare)
• German: Mondsichel (de) m
• Greek: ημισέληνος (el) f (imisélinos)

  Ancient: μηνίσκος m (mēnískos)

• Hebrew: סַהַר‎ (he) m (sáhar), חֲצִי סַהַר‎ m (khatsí sáhar)
• Hindi: अर्धचंद्र m (ardhacandra)
• Hungarian: félhold (hu)
• Italian: crescente (it), falce (it) f, mezzaluna (it) f
• Japanese: 三日月 (ja) (みかづき, mikazuki)
• Kazakh: жарты ай (jartı ay), айшық (ayşıq)
• Korean: 초승달 (choseungdal)
• Latin: semiluna f

• Latvian: pusmēness m
• Lithuanian: pusmėnulis m
• Macedonian: полумесечина f (polumesečina)
• Malay: bulan sabit
• Middle English: cressaunt
• Navajo: dah yiitʼą́
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: halvmåne m

• Ottoman Turkish: هلال‎
• Persian: هلال‎ (fa) (helâl), اندرماه‎ (andarmāh)
• Polish: półksiężyc (pl) m
• Portuguese: crescente (pt) f
• Romanian: semilună (ro) f
• Russian: полуме́сяц (ru) m (polumésjac)
• Sanskrit: अर्धचन्द्राकार (sa) m (ardhacandrākāra)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: по̏лумесе̄ц m, по̏лумјесе̄ц m

  Roman: pȍlumesēc m, pȍlumjesēc (sh) m

• Slovak: polmesiac m
• Slovene: polmesec m
• Spanish: medialuna (es) f, creciente (es) m
• Swedish: halvmåne (sv) c, månskära (sv) c
• Tagalog: gasuklay
• Tajik: ҳилол (hilol)
• Turkish: hilal (tr)
• Ukrainian: півмі́сяць m (pivmísjacʹ)
• Urdu: ہلال‎ (hilāl)
• Uzbek: yarim oy, hilol (uz)
• Welsh: cilgant m

curved pastry

• Bulgarian: кроасан m (kroasan)
• Danish: horn (da) n
• Dutch: croissant (nl), sikkelvormige rij huizen
• Finnish: voisarvi (fi), croissant (fi); sarvi (fi)
• French: croissant (fr)
• German: Hörnchen (de) n, Croissant (de) n, (Unterfranken, Bavaria, Austria) Kipfel (de) n, (Unterfranken, Bavaria, Austria) Kipfl (de) n
• Hungarian: kifli (hu), croissant (hu)
• Italian: cornetto (it) m
• Japanese: クロワッサン (ja) (kurowassan)
• Korean: 크루아상 (ko) (keuruasang)

• Macedonian: кифла f (kifla)
• Polish: rogal (pl) m
• Portuguese: croissant (pt) m
• Russian: рога́лик (ru) m (rogálik)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic:

  Roman: ròščić (sh) m, kíflica (sh) f

• Spanish: medialuna (es) f (Latin America)

curved street

• Finnish: kaari (fi)

symbol used by many Islamic entities

• Finnish: puolikuu (fi)

crescent spanner — see crescent spanner

historical: certain knighthoods

heraldry: waxing Moon with horns directed upward

• Finnish: makaava kuu

• Middle English: cressaunt

crescentspot butterfly — see crescentspot

Adjective

crescent (not comparable)

1. (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

2. 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

• gibbous

Translations

marked by an increase

• Bulgarian: нарастващ (bg) (narastvašt)
• Czech: vzrůstající
• Finnish: kasvava (fi)
• Greek: δρεπανοειδής (el) m (drepanoeidís), μηνοειδής (el) m (minoeidís)

• Italian: crescente (it)
• Portuguese: crescente (pt)
• Russian: нараста́ющий (ru) (narastájuščij), расту́щий (ru) (rastúščij)
• Tagalog: gasuklay

shaped like a crescent

• Bulgarian: сърповиден (sǎrpoviden)
• Finnish: sirpinmuotoinen

• Russian: серпови́дный (ru) (serpovídnyj)

Verb

crescent (third-person singular simple present crescents, present participle crescenting, simple past and past participle crescented)

1. (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

2. (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.)

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Latin

Verb

crēscent

1. third-person plural future active indicative of crēscō