Crescented

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having the shape of a crescent, resembling a curved, rounded figure tapering to points at the ends
2. Formed or appearing in the outline of a crescent, with a bowed or sickle-like curve
3. Displaying a crescent shape, similar to a slender moon phase or arc with pointed tips

Etymology: "Crescented" is the past form of "crescent," and the adjective's real story sits in the root it grows from. Latin "crēscēns" was the present participle of "crēscere," meaning "to arise" or "to thrive," so the crescent moon was named for a growing thing. The same root sits behind "crēāre" (to create, to produce) and even the goddess "Ceres," guardian of crops. The moon's shape was a thing that increased, rather than a thing that was shaped like an arc. The word reached English through Anglo-Norman "cressaunt" and Old French "creissant," meaning "crescent of the moon," and it arrived in Middle English as "cressaunt." Its French descendant is "croissant," the pastry, which is a doublet of "crescent." Both words come from the same Latin source, one having kept the sense of a curved shape and the other borrowed for a crescent-shaped roll. The "z" sound in modern "crescent" is a later change, probably influenced by words like "pheasant" and "present." The older English pronunciation kept the "s" sound more closely to its French source.