crescent
/ˈkɹɛ.zn̩t/
Detailed reference entry for the English word "crescent", 8-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Wiktionary, and usage frequency ranked against an open word-frequency list covering the top 100,000 English words. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "crescent" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "crescent" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
The verdict
“crescent” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #13,491 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #13,491
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The figure of the moon as it appears between its first or last quarter and the new moon, with concave and convex edges terminating in points.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | crescent |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkɹɛ.zn̩t/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #13,491 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “crescent” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for crescent is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɹɛ.zn̩t/. Corpus data places it at rank #13,491 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for crescent, with forms such as "ccrescent", "cerscent", and "crecsent". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "crescendo", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English cressaunt, from Anglo-Norman cressaunt and Old French creissant (“crescent of the moon”) (French croissant), from Latin crēscēns, present active participle of crēscō (“arise, thrive”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱreh₁- (“to grow”). See Ol… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is crescent, spelled C-R-E-S-C-E-N-T, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1The figure of the moon as it appears between its first or last quarter and the new moon, with concave and convex edges terminating in points.
- 2Something shaped like a crescent, especially:
- 3Something shaped like a crescent, especially:
- 4Something shaped like a crescent, especially:
- 5Something shaped like a crescent, especially:
- 6A crescent spanner.
- 7Any of three orders of knighthood conferred upon foreigners to whom Turkey might be indebted for valuable services.
- 8A crescentspot butterfly.
Etymology
From Middle English cressaunt, from Anglo-Norman cressaunt and Old French creissant (“crescent of the moon”) (French croissant), from Latin crēscēns, present active participle of crēscō (“arise, thrive”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱreh₁- (“to grow”). See Old Armenian սերիմ (serim, “be born”) and սերեմ (serem, “bring forth”), Ancient Greek κόρη (kórē, “girl”) and κούρος (koúros, “boy”), Latin creāre (“produce, create, bring forth”) and Ceres (“goddess of agriculture”). Doublet of croissant. The pronunciation with /z/ is a comparatively recent innovation due to the influence of words such as pheasant and present.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccrescent,cerscent,crecsent,cresccent,crescennt,crescentt,crescetn,crescnet,cresecnt,cresscent,crrescent,crsecent,rcescent
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of crescent - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Cite this page
Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:
PlainSpell, “crescent, English word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/en/word/crescent
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “crescent”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-R-E-S-C-E-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkɹɛ.zn̩t/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “crescendo” - see the side-by-side comparison. crescent vs crescendo
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter C in our English index: