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accretion

acc·re·tion

UK/əˈkɹiːʃn̩/ US/əˈkɹiʃən/ uncommon

noun

1.
2.

something contributing to growth or increase

  • “he scraped away the accretions of paint”
  • “the central city surrounded by recent accretions”
3.

(astronomy) the formation of a celestial object by the effect of gravity pulling together surrounding objects and gases

4.

(biology) growth by addition as by the adhesion of parts or particles

5.

(geology) an increase in land resulting from alluvial deposits or water-borne sediment

6.

(law) an increase in a beneficiary''s share in an estate (as when a co-beneficiary dies or fails to meet some condition or rejects the inheritance)

Origin

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.

Phrases

  • accretion disc
  • accretion disk
  • accretion shock
  • accretion-powered pulsar
  • oligarchic accretion

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.