cres´cent|like´

cres|cent «KREHS uhnt», noun, adjective.

–n.

1. the shape of the moon when it is small and thin. The moon is a crescent in its first and last quarter.

2. anything that curves in a similar way. A curved street or a curved row of houses is sometimes called a crescent.

3. the emblem of the former Turkish Empire and of the present republic of Turkey.

4. the Turkish or Muslim power.

5. a light roll, made of yeast dough, shaped like a crescent moon.

6. Heraldry. a bearing in the form of a new moon, usually borne horizontally with the horns uppermost as a mark of the second son.

7. a small butterfly with spotted brown wings with black margins on the upper side and a pale crescent spot on the underside of the wings.

–adj.

1. shaped like the moon when it is small and thin: »

a crescent pin.

2. growing; increasing; developing: »

the crescent darkness.

╂[< Latin crēscēns, -entis growing, present participle of crēscere arise, begin to grow < creāre produce, create]

–cres´cent|like´, adjective.