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Apr 29, 2010
This week's theme
Back-formations

This week's words
cathect
sass
callithump
accrete
cerebrate

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

accrete

PRONUNCIATION:
(uh-KREET)

MEANING:
verb tr., intr.: To grow gradually by accumulation.

ETYMOLOGY:
Back-formation from accretion, from accrescere (to grow). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ker- (to grow) that is also the source of words such as increase, recruit, crew, crescent, cereal, concrete, and crescendo.

USAGE:
"Protoplanets accrete more material and grow into full-sized planets."
Lisa Grossman; Saving the Earth With Dynamical Simulations; Science News (Washington, DC); Jan 8, 2010.

See more usage examples of accrete in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Everyone is kneaded out of the same dough but not baked in the same oven. -Yiddish proverb

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