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Origin and history of growing

growing(adj.)

Old English, present-participle adjective from grow (v.). Growing season is attested from 1729; growing pains by 1752.

growing(n.)

late 14c., "a gradual increase, action of causing to increase," verbal noun from grow (v.). Meaning "that which has grown, a crop" is from 1540s. Dialectal growsome "tending to make things grow" is from 1570s.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to growing

grow(v.)

Middle English grouen, from Old English growan (of plants) "to flourish, increase, develop, get bigger" (class VII strong verb; past tense greow, past participle growen), from Proto-Germanic *gro-, from PIE root *ghre- "to grow, become green" (see grass).

Applied in Middle English to human beings (c. 1300) and animals (early 15c.) and their parts, supplanting Old English weaxan (see wax (v.)) in the general sense of "to increase."

The transitive sense "cause to grow" is attested from 1774. To grow on "gain in the estimation of" is from 1712.

Germanic cognates include Old Norse groa "to grow" (of vegetation), Old Frisian groia, Dutch groeien, Old High German gruoen.

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    maturation
    early 15c., maturacioun, "the coming to a head of a boil, etc.; a state of producing pus," from Latin mātūrationem (nominative mātūratio) "a hastening, accelerating," noun of action from past-participle stem of mātūrare "to ripen, grow ripe; make ripe; to quicken" (see mature (v.
    development
    1756, "a gradual unfolding, a full working out or disclosure of the details of something;" see develop + -ment. Meaning "the internal process of expanding and growing" is by 1796; sense of "advancement through progressive stages" is by 1836.  Of property, with a sense of "a
    vegetable
    early 15c., "capable of life or growth; growing, vigorous;" also "neither animal nor mineral, of the plant kingdom, living...and growing as a plant," from Old French vegetable "living, fit to live," and directly from Medieval Latin vegetabilis "...growing, flourishing," from Late Latin vegetabilis "animating, enlivening," from Latin vegetare "to enliven," from vegetus...
    accretion
    1610s, "act of growing by organic enlargement;" 1650s as "that which is formed by continued growth from without," from Latin...accretionem (nominative accretio) "an increasing, a growing larger" (as of the waxing moon), noun of action from past-participle...
    adolescent
    mid-15c., "youth, young person, one who is growing up," from French adolescent (15c.) or directly from Latin adolescentem.../adulescentem (nominative adolescens/adulescens) "young man or woman, a youth," noun use of an adjective meaning "growing...
    mistletoe
    European plant growing parasitically on certain trees, Old English mistiltan, from mistel "mistletoe" (see missel) + tan...Venerated by the Druids, especially when found growing on the oak, which it seldom does; the custom of hanging it at Christmas...
    snaggle-toothed
    "irregular or projecting tooth, tooth growing out irregularly from others" is from 1820....
    production
    c. 1400, produccioun, "a coming into being," from Old French production "production, exhibition" (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin productionem (nominative productio) "a prolonging, lengthening," noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin producere "bring forth" (see
    habit
    early 13c., "characteristic attire of a religious or clerical order," from Old French habit, abit "clothing, (ecclesiastical) habit; conduct" (12c.), from Latin habitus "condition, demeanor, appearance, dress," originally past participle of habere "to have, hold, possess; wear; f
    change
    c. 1200, "to alter, make different, change" (transitive); early 13c. as "to substitute one for another;" mid-13c. as "to make (something) other than what it was, cause to turn or pass from one state to another;" from late 13c. as "to become different, be altered" (intransitive),

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