Accumulate

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /əˈkjuːmjʊˌleɪt/

Definitions

1. To build up a quantity of something by continuously collecting it over a period of time
2. To increase a certain amount through a series of additions or collections, resulting in a more substantial total
3. To gather or amass a large quantity of items or data over time, often through repeated collection or addition

Etymology: Before it meant gathering things over time, "accumulate" was a heaping image: the Latin "cumulus" was a pile, and "cumulō" meant to heap something up. The verb "accumulō" added "ad-", "to, towards", so the root sense is piling material toward a spot until a mound forms. English borrowed the word in the late 15th century, first recorded around 1487 as the Middle English "accumylaten", and it arrived through the past participle "accumulātus", which is why the English verb keeps the "-ate" ending. The word did not pass through French first. Its close relative "accumuler" in French is a cognate, descended from the same Latin source rather than a loan from it. Both languages reached for the same pile-building verb, so English and French share a metaphor of physical stacking that now describes wealth, evidence, or years passing.

Synonyms: gather, collect, amass, assemble, stockpile

Antonyms: disperse, dissipate, scatter, lose, spend