accrescentadj.
/əˈkrɛsnt/, U.S. /əˈkrɛsənt/ 1. That grows or increases continuously or by accretion; ever increasing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > increase in quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > increasing continuously
accrescent1713
accretive1796
the world > life > biology > biological processes > development, growth, or degeneration > [adjective] > growth
growinga900
vegetativec1460
crescive1566
vegetive1615
accretive1661
accrescent1713
growthful1849
1713 S. Hill Harmony Canonical & Apocryphal Script. xv. 96 A meer unsubstantial, accrescent, and inherent Quality.
1753 S. Shuckford Creation & Fall of Man vi. 90 New Appearances of accrescent Variety and Alteration.
1837 G. W. Bethune Genius 48 Energy should be accrescent. A speaker ought to be in earnest from the very beginning... Yet his energy should gradually rise in thought, language, and manner.
1843 Gentleman's Mag. Apr. 368/1 Almost every distinguished chief has owed to experience, which is the accrescent result of time and practice, his fame and success.
1891 Temple Bar June 222 Accrescent layers of instruction sandwiched in between patches of narrative.
1921 F. L. Field & G. H. Richards Battery Bk. 133 The immense portions of fresh vegetables..satisfied the accrescent appetites which we had developed since our departure from La Harazee.
1968 Adv. Marine Biol. 6 178 There are differences..between accrescent and eroding shores.
1992 C. J. Fuller Camphor Flame iv. 88 The connected impact of Buddhism and Jainism contributed much to the accrescent belief that nonviolence is supremely valued.
2. Botany. Continuing to grow; growing larger after flowering; spec. designating parts of a flower which normally fall off or wither after fertilization but instead continue growing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > flower or part containing reproductive organs > [adjective] > having or relating to parts > having particular form, position, or mode of growth
accrescent1836
extrorse1850
posticous1866
anticous1870
concrescent1902
1836 Compan. Bot. Mag. 2 286/1 Petals..by one-half shorter than the interior sepals, persistent, somewhat accrescent.
1857 A. Henfrey Elem. Course Bot. 102 Occasionally [the calyx] grows during the maturation of the fruit, and is accrescent, forming..a vesicular envelope to the fruit.
1929 H. A. A. Nicholls & J. H. Holland Text-bk. Trop. Agric. (ed. 2) ii. xix. 552 This variety has the fruit almost enveloped in a fleshy accrescent perianth or covering.
2004 Amer. Jrnl. Bot. 91 1630/1 The sepals are persistent, and often accrescent.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1713