a. Also 6 excressent. [ad. L. excrēscent-em, pr. pple. of excrēscĕre: see EXCRESCE v.]
1. † a. gen. That grows out. Const. from (obs.). b. Bot. of a peduncle (see quot. 1857).
1650. Bulwer, Anthropomet., 172. The excrescent, supercrescent, and ever-crescent parts.
1677. Hale, Prim. Orig. Man., III. ii. 257. The first spontaneous production of Men … was in certain Folliculi or Bladders, excrescent from the Earth.
1779. Projects, in Nat. Hist., 107/2. They will wash this excrescent substance off.
1834–43. Southey, Doctor (1862), 24. Matter will arise contingent to the story … or excrescent from it.
1857. Henfrey, Bot., § 139. Sometimes the peduncles undergo expansion during the ripening of the seeds, so as to form part of the fruit; such an inflorescence or peduncle is called excrescent.
2. † a. Growing in excess or beyond normal limits; excessive (obs.). b. Growing abnormally out of something else; constituting an excrescence; redundant, superfluous.
1633. T. Adams, Exp. 2 Peter ii. 13. 871. Wee pare off such excrescent blemishes that the body may bee perfect.
1657. Tomlinson, Renou’s Disp., 69. The virtue of Chrysocal is … to cohibit excrescent flesh.
1671. [R. MacWard], True Non-conf., 153. Their Immediate successors are against your Prelatick excrescent power.
1697. Potter, Antiq. Greece, IV. x. (1715), 248.
| She from the Fore-head of a new foal’d Colt | |
| Th’ excrescent Lump doth seek. |
1732. Pope, Ess. Man, II. 49. Expunge the whole, or lop the excrescent parts [of Science].
1886. F. Ford, in Mag. of Art, Nov., 8. There is an excrescent structure of wood stuck on to the wall.
3. Constituting an excess over the normal quantity. Formerly, spec. in Chronology.
1609. Holland, Amm. Marcell., XXVI. i. 456, note. The odde day which everie fourth yeare arising out of the six excrescent howers in each yeare, maketh the leape yeare.
a. 1654. Selden, Fortescue’s De Laud. Reg. (1672), 128. The foure excrescent quadrants of a day in the Julian yeare were and are, at the end of every four years space, put into one day.
1832. Chalmers, Pol. Econ., vii. 220. The excrescent, or the superinduced population.
b. Gram. Of a sound in a word: Having no etymological value, but developed by the influence of euphony.
1868. Key, Philol. Essays, 204. Excrescent Consonants. I have thought it desirable to ask for one [a new grammatical term] … because the ordinary term ‘epenthesis’ seems to have been formed on a false theory.
1881. Skeat, Etym. Dict., s.v. Sound, The final d … is excrescent, just as in the vulgar gownd for gown.
