decrease

Pronunciation

• IPA: /dɪˈkɹiːs/, /ˈdiːkɹiːs/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English decresen, from Anglo-French decreiss-, the stem of decreistre, Old French descroistre (“to decrease”) (modern French décroître),^[2][3][4] from Vulgar Latin *discrēscere, for Latin dēcrēscere (“to grow less”),^[4][2] from de (“down, away”) and crēscere (“to grow”),^[2][3] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *ker- (“to grow”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The noun, a lessening: 1383 in the OED;^[5] detriment or harm in the late 14th century in Etymonline.^[2] The verb, to grow less, is from 1393 in the OED, the early 15th century in Etymonline.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

The transitive verb, to make less, is from the late 15th century (about 1470).^[2][5] The wane of the moon is an obsolete sense of 1626.^[5]

Timeline

• 1383 – a lessening (noun).^[5]
• 1393 – to grow less.^[5]
• c. 1470 – to make less.^[5]
• 1626 – the wane of the moon (obsolete).^[5]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To become or make smaller or fewer; to diminish.

Noun

1. A lessening or reduction.
2. The amount by which something is reduced.

Word family

• decreasingly
• nondecreasing
• undecreasing
• undecreased

Related words

• decrescendo
• increase
• crescent
• create

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press