Etymograph

English

decrease

Decrease comes from Old French descreistre ‘to decrease’, from Latin crēscō ‘grow’, and ultimately from 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‘grow’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēcrēscō2as decrescere‘to grow less or shorter, decrease, wane, dwindle’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400descreistre2‘to decrease’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500decresen2
  7. Englishtodaydecrease2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin decresco
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English decrease

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱer-Wiktionary, Latin decrescoreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱreh₁-sḱétiWiktionary, Latin decrescoreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrēscōWiktionary, Latin decresco‘grow’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēcrēscōWiktionary, English decreaseas decrescere‘to grow less or shorter, decrease, wane, dwindle’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400descreistreWiktionary, English decrease‘to decrease’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500decresenWiktionary, English decrease
  7. EnglishtodaydecreaseWiktionary, English decrease

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 ‘grow’

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

Today it means

verb Of a quantity, to become smaller.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “decrease”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin decresco. 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- / decrease

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