Etymograph

English

increasing

Increasing comes from Middle English encresen ‘to grow or increase in size, power, or magnitude’, 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‘grow’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEincresco2as incrēscō‘to grow in or upon’
  5. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400encreistre2
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500encresen3‘to grow or increase in size, power, or magnitude’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500encresynge4as encresing
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1918increasing4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin incresco
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Middle English encresen
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Middle English encresynge
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English increasing
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1918, William Babington Maxwell, Indianapolis: “Here, in the transept and choir, where the service…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱer-Wiktionary, Latin increscoreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱreh₁-sḱétiWiktionary, Latin increscoreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrēscōWiktionary, Latin incresco‘grow’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEincrescoWiktionary, Middle English encresenas incrēscō‘to grow in or upon’
  5. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400encreistreWiktionary, Middle English encresen
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500encresenWiktionary, Middle English encresynge‘to grow or increase in size, power, or magnitude’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500encresyngeWiktionary, English increasingas encresing
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1918increasingWiktionary, English increasing. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1918, William Babington Maxwell, Indianapolis: “Here, in the transept and choir, where the service…”

Formed from increase + ing

Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- ‘to grow’

…

Latin crescō ‘to grow’

Latin increscō ‘to increase’

Anglo-Norman encreistre

Middle English encresen ‘to grow or increase’

English increase

Proto-Indo-European *h₂enk- ‘to curve, bend’

…

Proto-Germanic *angijō ‘meadow’

Old Norse eng

Old English ing ‘meadow, water meadow, ing’

Middle English ing

English ing

Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-

Another origin of increasing

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱer-reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱreh₁-sḱétireconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrēscō‘grow’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEincrescoas incrēscō‘to grow in or upon’
  5. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400encreistre
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500encresen‘to grow or increase in size, power, or magnitude’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500encresyngeas encresing
  8. Englishtodayincreasing

Today it means

adj On the increase.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “increasing”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin incresco, Middle English encresen, Middle English encresynge. 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- / increasing

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