-escent
a suffix of adjectives borrowed from Latin, where it expresses the beginning of an action or process; often corresponding to verbs ending in -esce and nouns ending in -escence: convalescent; recrudescent.
Origin of -escent
1From Latin, stem of -ēscēns, present participle ending
Words Nearby -escent
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
British Dictionary definitions for -escent
-escent
suffix forming adjectives
beginning to be, do, show, etc: convalescent; luminescent
Origin of -escent
1via Old French from Latin -ēscent-, stem of present participial suffix of -ēscere, ending of inceptive verbs
Derived forms of -escent
- -escence, suffix forming nouns
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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