crescent

English

a crescent-moon shape

a crescent (street)

Clockwise from the dexter chief (the viewer's top left) : a heraldic crescent (gules), a crescent pendent (azure), a decrescent (tenné), and an increscent (vert).

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 creāre (“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 a crescent, used as a symbol of Islam.

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

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

5. A crescentspot butterfly.

Derived terms

• Crescent City
• crescent fresh
• crescent moon
• crescent roll
• crescent-shaped
• 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) m
• Galician: crecente (gl)
• Georgian: ნახევარმთვარე (naxevarmtvare)
• German: Mondsichel (de) f
• 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 (jarty ai), айшық (aişyq)
• 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 (andarmâh)
• 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: månskära (sv) c
• Tagalog: gasuklay
• Tajik: ҳилол (hilol)
• Tamil: பிறை (ta) (piṟai)
• Telugu: చంద్రవంక (te) (candravaṅka)
• 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 m, kíflica (sh) f

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

curved street

• Finnish: kaari (fi)

symbol used by many Islamic entities

• Finnish: puolikuu (fi)
• German: Halbmond (de) m
• Persian: ماهچه‎ (fa) (mâhče)
• Polish: hilal (pl) m, półksiężyc (pl) m

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 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] I[ames] R[oberts] for N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604, →OCLC, [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:

     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. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     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 a crescent shape
   • 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 decorate with crescents.

References

• “crescent”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Latin

Verb

crēscent

1. third-person plural future active indicative of crēscō