/ˈkrɛs.ənt/·noun / adjective·c. 1399 (Middle English 'cressaunt')·Established
Origin
'Crescent' is Latin for 'growing' — the crescent moon is literally the growing moon.
Definition
The curved shape of the waxing or waning moon; something shaped like this curve; (adjective) growing or increasing.
The Full Story
Latin14th centurywell-attested
From Anglo-Norman 'creissant,' from OldFrench 'creissant' (growing), present participle of 'creistre' (to grow), from Latin 'crēscere' (to come into being, to grow, to increase), from PIE *ḱerh₃- (to grow, to increase). Theword literally means 'growing' — the crescent moon is the moon in its growing phase, waxing from new to full. The PIEroot *ḱerh₃- is extraordinarily productive: it gave Latin 'creāre' (to create, to bring into being), 'Cerēs' (the goddess of grain and
Did you know?
TheFrench pastry 'croissant' is etymologically identical to 'crescent' — both mean 'growing' or 'crescent-shaped,' from Latin 'crēscere.' The croissant is named for its crescent-moon shape. Meanwhile, 'concrete' is literally 'grown together' (from 'con-' + 'crēscere'), because the Romans observed that their building material solidified by growing its components together. And
of the crescent in the fifteenth century gave it its modern association with Islam. Key roots: crēscere (Latin: "to grow, increase"), *ḱerh₃- (Proto-Indo-European: "to grow").