Etymograph

English

accrease

Accrease comes from Middle English acresen ‘to grow’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱer-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱreh₁-sḱéti1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrēscō1‘to rise, grow, grow up’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaccrēscō2as accrēscere‘to grow, increase’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400acreistre2
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500acresen2‘to grow’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1603accrease2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin accresco
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English accrease
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1603, Michel de Montaigne, The Essayes […]: “For then we shal have worke sufficient, without any…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱer-Wiktionary, Latin accrescoreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱreh₁-sḱétiWiktionary, Latin accrescoreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrēscōWiktionary, Latin accresco‘to rise, grow, grow up’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaccrēscōWiktionary, English accreaseas accrēscere‘to grow, increase’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400acreistreWiktionary, English accrease
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500acresenWiktionary, English accrease‘to grow’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1603accreaseWiktionary, English accrease. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1603, Michel de Montaigne, The Essayes […]: “For then we shal have worke sufficient, without any…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-

create, creative, creator, creature, cereal, creole, procreation, kore, creat, 26 more

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱreh₁-sḱéti

crew, 10 more

through Latin crēscō ‘to rise, grow, grow up’

increase, increasing, decrease, crescent, increment, croissant, excrement, cru, 10 more

through Latin accrēscō ‘to grow, increase’

accrue, 2 more

Today it means

verb To increase.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “accrease”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin accresco. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- / accrease

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