accretion
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accretion
- /əˈkɹiːʃn̩/ UK
- /əˈkɹiʃən/ US
Rhymes with -iːʃən
Where it comes from
PIE word
*h₂éd
Learned borrowing from Latin accrētiō (“increase, increment”) + English -ion (suffix forming nouns denoting actions or processes, or their results). Accrētiō is derived from accrēscō (“to grow, increase”) + -tiō (suffix forming nouns denoting actions or processes, or their results); and accrēscō is from ac- (a variant of ad-, prefix meaning ‘to’, or having an intensifying effect) + crēscō (“to grow; to increase”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- (“to cause to grow; to grow; to nourish”)).
Doublet of accrue, crescent, and increase.
noun accretions
- Increase by natural growth, especially the gradual increase of organic bodies by the internal addition of matter; organic growth; also, the amount of such growth. Warwick was unable to perceive much change in the market-house. […] There might have been a slight accretion of the moss and lichen on the shingled roof.
- (Gradual) increase by an external addition of matter; (countable) an instance of this. Near-synonym: accumulation
- The process by which material is added to a geological feature; specifically, to a tectonic plate at a subduction zone.
- Followed by of: external addition of matter to a thing which causes it to grow, especially in amount or size. [W]hile ſome fevv grevv rich by turning Money in their ovvn Banks, there vvas a falſe Appearance of VVealth vvithin, but no Accretion of Riches from abroad.
- The process of separate particles aggregating or coalescing together; concretion; (countable) a thing formed in this manner. The accretion of particles forms a solid mass.
- The formation of planets, stars, and other celestial bodies by the aggregating of matter drawn together by gravity; also, the growth of a celestial body through this process. This theory, known as pebble accretion, is reshaping how scientists think about the early solar system. […] "In many ways, pebble accretion is the most efficient way of adding mass to a body," says Lambrechts.
- Something gradually added to or growing on a thing externally. accretion of ice
- A substance which has built up on the surface of an object, rather than become embedded in it. Accretions of dirt on clothing are often left in place by conservators because they can provide additional details about the artefact’s importance or history.
- Increase in property by the addition of other property to it (for example, gain of land by alluvion (“the deposition of sediment by a river or sea”) or dereliction (“recession of water from the usual watermark”), or entitlement to the products of the property such as interest on money); or by the property owner acquiring another person’s ownership rights; accession; (countable) an instance of this.
- Increase of an inheritance to an heir or legatee due to the share of a co-heir or co-legatee being added to it, because the latter person is legally unable to inherit the share.
