Excrescent
/ɪkˈskrɛs.ənt/noun
Growing out or standing out as an abnormal or superfluous appendage.
Did you know?Excrescent comes from Latin roots meaning “to grow out,” and in older medical writing it could describe ugly growths or unwanted bodily protrusions, giving the word a distinctly uncanny, almost alchemical feel.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ker-
“to grow, swell, or rise”
Latin
Latin
crescere
“to grow, increase, or come into being”
Latin
Latin
excrescere
“to grow out, grow forth, or become superfluous”
Late Middle English
English
excrescent
“growing out; an abnormal outgrowth or superfluous growth”
Modern English
English
excrescent
“growing out; unnecessary or superfluous”
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