crescent

[kres-uh nt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR crescent ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a shape resembling a segment of a ring tapering to points at the ends.

something, as a roll or cookie, having this shape.

Astronomy.

the figure of the moon in its first or last quarter, resembling a segment of a ring tapering to points at the ends.
the similar figure of Mercury and Venus on either side of inferior conjunction, when seen through a telescope.

the emblem of Turkey or of Islam.

the power, religion, or civilization of Turkey or of Islam.

Also called Chinese crescent, Chinese pavilion, jingling Johnny, pavillon Chinois, Turkish crescent. a musical percussion instrument of Turkish origin, consisting of a pole bearing a crescent-shaped metal plate, topped with a pavillon, and hung with small bells.

Chiefly British.

a curved street, often having solid façades of unified architectural design.
the curve or curved portion of a street.

Heraldry. a representation of a crescent moon, horns upward unless otherwise specified, used as the cadency mark of a second son.

adjective

shaped like a crescent.

increasing; growing.

Origin of crescent

1350–1400; < Latin crēscent- (stem of crēscēns) present participle of crēscere to grow (see create, -esce); replacing Middle English cressaunt < Anglo-French < Latin as above

Related formscres·cen·tic

[kri-sen-tik] /krɪˈsɛn tɪk/, adjectivesub·cres·cen·tic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for crescent

curve, bow, meniscus, sickle, half-moon, bowed, concave, convex, curved, crescentic, falcate, semicircular, demilune, lune

Examples from the Web for crescent

Contemporary Examples of crescent

Leaving the OR that night, I looked up the clear sky, at the flocks of white seagulls and a sliver of crescent moon.
Those Kansas City Blues: A Family History
Katie Baker
October 24, 2014
Tipitina's in the warm blue fog, squatting beneath a crescent moon so sharp and clean you could shave a wild hog with it.
The Stacks: The Neville Brothers Stake Their Claim as Bards of the Bayou
John Ed Bradley
April 27, 2014
A rare happy moment under the Crescent City Connection bridge.
The City that Care Forgot
November 9, 2012
The Crescent City is reinventing, rebuilding and reimagining itself.
Reboot America!
Tina Brown
October 6, 2010
The night was partly cloudy and cool—55 degrees—and a crescent moon climbed in the sky.
Exclusive Excerpt: MLK's Haunting Final Hours
Hampton Sides
April 24, 2010

Historical Examples of crescent

Dare you to wear your brother's coat without the crescent which should stamp you as his cadet.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
But was the "star and crescent" the symbol of the City of Constantine?
The Non-Christian Cross
John Denham Parsons
Diana had sped an arrow from her bow that is like the crescent moon.
Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew
Josephine Preston Peabody
The crescent moon and the stars filtered down a tinsel light.
The Cruise of the Dry Dock
T. S. Stribling
There was one born in the sky, sir, the day I was christened with a Turkish crescent.
Vivian Grey
Earl of Beaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli

British Dictionary definitions for crescent

crescent

noun

the biconcave shape of the moon in its first or last quarters

any shape or object resembling this

mainly British

a crescent-shaped street, often lined with houses of the same style
(capital when part of a name)Pelham Crescent

heraldry a crescent moon, used as the cadency mark of a second son

the crescent (often capital)

the emblem of Islam or Turkey
Islamic or Turkish power

adjective

archaic, or poetic increasing or growing

Derived Formscrescentic (krəˈsɛntɪk), adjective

Word Origin for crescent

C14: from Latin crescēns increasing, from crescere to grow

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

Word Origin and History for crescent

late 14c., "crescent-shaped ornament," from Anglo-French cressaunt, from Old French creissant "crescent of the moon" (12c., Modern French croissant), from Latin crescentum (nominative crescens), present participle of crescere "come forth, spring up, grow, thrive, swell, increase in numbers or strength," from PIE root *ker- "to grow" (cf. Latin Ceres, goddess of agriculture, creare "to bring forth, create, produce;" Greek kouros "boy," kore "girl;" Armenian serem "bring forth," serim "be born").

Applied in Latin to the waxing moon, luna crescens, but subsequently in Latin mistaken to refer to the shape, not the stage. The original Latin sense is preserved in crescendo. A badge or emblem of the Turkish sultans (probably chosen for its suggestion of "increase"); figurative sense of "Muslim political power" is from 1580s, but modern writers often falsely associate it with the Saracens of the Crusades or the Moors of Spain. Horns of the waxing moon are on the viewer's left side; those of the waning moon are on his right.

crescent in Medicine