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cumulative

[kyoo-myuh-luh-tiv, -ley-tiv]

Origin

adjective

increasing or growing by accumulation or successive additions: the cumulative effect of one rejection after another.

formed by or resulting from accumulation or the addition of successive parts or elements.

of or pertaining to interest or dividends that, if not paid when due, become a prior claim for payment in the future: cumulative preferred stocks.

Origin:
1595–1605; cumulate + -ive

Related forms

cu·mu·la·tive·ly, adverb

cu·mu·la·tive·ness, noun

un·cu·mu·la·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Cumulative is always a great word to know.

So is callithumpian. Does it mean:

a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.

an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

cumulative (ˈkjuːmjʊlətɪv)

—*adj*
1.	growing in quantity, strength, or effect by successive additions or gradual steps: cumulative pollution
2.	gained by or resulting from a gradual building up: cumulative benefits
3.	finance
	a. (of preference shares) entitling the holder to receive any arrears of dividend before any dividend is distributed to ordinary shareholders
	b. (of dividends or interest) intended to be accumulated if not paid when due
4.	statistics
	a. (of a frequency) including all values of a variable either below or above a specified value
	b. (of error) tending to increase as the sample size is increased

'cumulatively

—*adv*

'cumulativeness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

cumulative

c.1600, from L. cumulatus, pp. of cumulare "to heap," from cumulus "heap" (see cumulus) + -ive.

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

cumulative cu·mu·la·tive (ky&oomacr;m'yə-lā'tĭv, -yə-lə-tĭv)
adj.

Increasing or enlarging by successive addition.
Acquired by or resulting from accumulation.
Of or relating to the sum of the frequencies of experimentally determined values of a random variable that are less than or equal to a specified value.
Of or relating to experimental error that increases in magnitude with each successive measurement.

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"Raising children is an incredibly hard and risky business in which no cumulative wisdom is gained: each generation repeats the mistakes the previous one made."

-Bill Cosby

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