Crescent
nounA curved shape that tapers to points at each end, like a narrow segment of the moon.
How to spell crescent
8 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce crescent
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does crescent mean?
- nounA curved shape that tapers to points at each end, like a narrow segment of the moon.
Crescent in a sentence
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A thin crescent of moon hung over the rooftops.
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The baker arranged each pastry into a neat crescent before baking.
Where does crescent come from?
Language of origin: Latin
The word comes from the Latin verb crescere, meaning 'to grow' or 'to increase'. Its present participle crescens, with the stem crescent-, literally meant 'growing', and it was applied to the new moon because that thin sliver appears to be growing larger each night as it waxes towards full. English borrowed the word in the late 1300s through Old French creissant (modern French croissant), where it kept the sense of the waxing moon. Over time the word shifted from describing the moon's growth to describing the curved shape itself, which is why we now speak of a crescent regardless of whether the moon is waxing or waning. The same crescere root also gives us 'crescendo', 'increase', and the flaky pastry the 'croissant', all carrying that idea of growing or building. The silent middle: the -sc- spelling is the trap, a direct inheritance from the Latin growth verb.
How the word is built
- cresc- (from Latin crescere: to grow)
- -ent (present participle suffix forming an adjective/noun)
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