To grow or accumulate by gradual addition, especially of layers or material adhering to a surface.
From Latin accrescere 'to grow to,' from ad- 'to' + crescere 'to grow.' The word entered English in the 17th century with geological and biological applications.
Accretion disks around black holes, pearls forming around irritants, and coral building reefs—they all accrete. It's the universe's way of building complexity by sticking small things together, and we use the same verb from Latin to describe it all.
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