concrēscō

I. inf. perf. sync. concresse, Ov. M. 7, 416), v. n., to grow together; hence with the prevailing idea of uniting, and generally of soft or liquid substances which thicken; to harden, condense, curdle, stiffen, congeal, etc. (very freq., and class. in prose and poetry).

I. Prop.: concrescunt semina (opp. extenuantur), Lucr. 4, 1261; 6, 626; cf.: concrescunt subitae currenti in flumine crustae, Verg. G. 3, 360; opp. liquere, Cic. Univ. 14: rigido concrescere rostro Ora videt, to stiffen into a hard beak. Ov. M. 5, 673; cf.: Aconteus Gorgone conspectā saxo concrevit oborto, id. ib. 5, 202 (cf. also saxoque oculorum induruit umor, id. ib. 5, 233): quo pacto pluvius concrescat in altis Nubibus umor, Lucr. 6, 495; cf. id. 6, 250: imbres gelidis concrescunt ventis, Ov. M. 9, 220: (aqua) neque conglaciaret frigoribus neque nive pruināque concresceret, etc., Cic. N. D. 2, 10, 26: gelidus concrevit frigore sanguis, Verg. A. 12, 905: cum lac concrevit, Col. 7, 8, 3; cf. Ov. M. 12, 436: concretos sanguine crines, stuck together or clotted, Verg. A. 2, 277; cf.: concreta sanguine barba, Ov. M. 14, 201.—With in and acc.: crystalli modo glaciari et in lapidem concrescere, harden into, Plin. 36, 22, 45, § 161; cf.: aër ... tum autem concretus in nubis cogitur, Cic. N. D. 2, 39, 101.—

II. Meton.

A. To take form, to grow, increase: de terris terram concrescere parvis, Lucr. 1, 840: terrā in ipsā taetro concrescere odore bitumen, id. 6, 807; Verg. E. 6, 34; cf.: indagatio initiorum unde omnia orta, generata, concreta sint, Cic. Tusc. 5, 24, 69; 1, 24, 56: valles, quae fluminum alluvie et inundationibus concreverint, Col. 3, 11, 8.—With ex: omne corpus aut aqua aut aër aut ignis aut terra est, aut id quod est concretum ex aliquā parte eorum, composed, formed of, Cic. N. D. 3, 12, 30; so id. ib. 3, 14, 34; Tac. A. 13, 57.—

2. Trop.: illud funestum animal, ex nefariis stupris, ex civili cruore concretum (al. conceptum), Cic. Pis. 9, 21. —

B. (Con intens.) To grow strong, to rise by growing, etc. (so very rare): (lana) quanto prolixior in pecore concrescit, tanto, etc., Col. 7, 3, 10 (but in Lucr. 5, 833, the best reading is clarescit; v. Lachm.).—Hence, concrētus, a, um, P. a. (acc. to I.), grown together, concrete, compound, condensed, hardened, thick, hard, stiff, curdled, congealed, clotted, etc. (class.): dubitare non possumus quin nihil sit animis admixtum, nihil concretum, nihil copulatum, nihil coagmentatum, nihil duplex, Cic. Tusc. 1, 29, 71; 1, 27, 66: aër crassus et concretus, id. ib. 1, 18, 42; Lucr. 1, 1018; 5, 467 sq.: aër (opp. fusus, extenuatus), Cic. N. D. 2, 39, 101; cf.: pingue et concretum esse caelum, id. Div. 1, 57, 130: umores (opp. acres), id. N. D. 2, 23, 59: spuma, Ov. M. 4, 537: lac, Verg. G. 3, 463: in sanguine, Ov. M. 13, 492: mare, Plin. 4, 16, 30, § 104: nix concreta pruinā, Lucr. 3, 20: concreta et durata glacies, Liv. 21, 36, 8; cf.: concreta frigora canā pruinā, stiffened by the hoary frost, Verg. G. 2, 376: gelu, Curt. 8, 4.—Poet., of light: cum claram speciem concreto lumine luna abdidit, thick, i. e. dimmed, Cic. poët. Div. 1, 11, 18: nanus et ipse suos breviter concretus in artus, shortened, Prop. 4 (5), 8, 41. dolor, benumbing, tearless, Ov. P. 2, 11, 10.—Subst.: concrētum, i, n., firm or solid matter: species quaedam deorum, quae nihil concreti habeat, nihil solidi, Cic. N. D. 1, 27, 75.—Esp. (sc. gelu), hard or stiff frost: nec semine jacto Concretum patitur radicem adfigere terrae, Verg. G. 2, 318 Rib. Forbig.; cf. Hildebr. ad App. M. 1, p. 455. (By others concretum is made acc. of 2. concretus. The common reading is concretam, sc. gelu, the root stiffened by frost; cf. Forbig. ad loc.)—Comp.: semen concretius, Lucr. 4, 1240: spuma lactis concretior, Plin. 11, 41, 96, § 239: ossa concreta, t. t., solid bones, i. e. without marrow, id. 7, 18, 18, § 78.—Sup. and adv. not in use.