Accumulates

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To progressively collect and amass items or resources over a period of time
2. To build up a quantity by continuous addition over time
3. Describes the process of steadily adding more to a total amount

Etymology: Latin "cumulus" meant a heap, and the verb "cumulare" meant to heap things up. English took the verb in the form "accumulate," which is built from "ad" ("to, towards") plus "cumulo" ("to heap"), so the word is literally a heaping-toward. Its first recorded appearance in English dates to around 1487, when it arrived as the Middle English "accumylaten," borrowed from the past participle "accumulatus." French has a matching "accumuler," so the two languages share the same pile of parts. The word is a verb that describes gathering things bit by bit, and that sense grows directly from the physical image of heaping. The original picture of material piling up in one place has become a picture of slowly building a total, whether of dust, debts, or experience.

Synonyms: gathers, collects, amasses, builds up, hoards

Antonyms: dissipates, loses, spends, disperses, depletes