Word Origin & History
crescentlate 14c., from Anglo-Fr. cressaunt, from O.Fr. creissant, from L. crescentum (nom. crescens), pp. of crescere "come forth, spring up, grow, thrive," from PIE base *ker- "to grow" (cf. L. Ceres, goddess of agriculture, creare "to bring forth, create, produce;" Gk. kouros "boy," kore "girl;" Arm. serem
"bring forth," serim "be born"). First applied to the waxing moon, luna crescens, but subsequently mistaken to mean the shape, not the stage. 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. Croissant is the modern Fr. form of the word. The original Latin sense is preserved in
crescendo.