accrued
Meaning
(of money, interest, or benefits) received or accumulated over time, typically in a regular or increasing way.
Structure
Usage
The accrued interest on the savings account will be paid quarterly.
Employees are entitled to receive payment for all accrued vacation days upon leaving the company.
The report detailed the company's accrued expenses and outstanding debts.
Etymology
The word 'accrued' originates from the Old French 'acreü', the past participle of 'acreistre', meaning 'to increase'. This, in turn, derives from the Latin verb 'accrēscere', a compound of 'ad-' ('to') and 'crēscere' ('to grow'). The literal sense is "to have grown to" or "to have been added to." Over time, this concept of gradual growth became specifically attached to financial and legal contexts, describing benefits or liabilities that accumulate incrementally, such as interest on capital or rights that mature with the passage of time.
Analysis
- ac: Latin prefix 'ad-', meaning 'to, towards'. Assimilated to 'ac-' before 'c'. - crue: From Latin 'crēscere', meaning 'to grow, increase'. The form 'crue' is a direct substring representing the core root. - d: A common English suffix indicating the past tense and past participle form of a regular verb.