What is the Latin word for grow?

The usual Latin words for “grow” are crēscō, succrēscō, gignō; also nāscor, prōveniō, faciō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“grow” in Latin

crēscōto rise, grow, grow up; prosper, thrive; increase, multiply, augment; to come to be; to become visible, spring from, ari succrēscōto grow under, or from under gignōto bring forth as a fruit of oneself: to bear, to beget, to engender, to give birth to; to produce, to cause, to yield; nāscorto be born, begotten; to arise, proceed; to grow, spring forth prōveniōto come forth, originate, arise; to appear, come forth; to grow up, thrive, prosper faciōto do (particularly as a specific instance or occasion of doing); to make, construct, fashion, frame, build, erect; to m ēvādōto exit, leave, come out; to become, result, appear, succeed, end up, turn out (as), result in; to pass over or flee adolēscōto grow up, become an adult, mature; to grow, increase, augment, become greater barbabeard (facial hair); wool, down on a plant serōto sow, plant; to beget, bring forth, produce; to found, establish; scatter, spread, disseminate; propagate; excite; cau

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

grow

To increase, (α) PROPR., Of organic bodies, crescere: succrescere (to grow gradually). To grow in height, in altitudinem crescere (of things): adolescere (of young persons): to grow in breadth, length, in latitudinem, in longitudinem crescere: to let one’s beard, one’s hair grow, barbam, capillum promittere; barbam, comam alere: to let one’s nails grow, ungues non resecare or non recidere: to be well grown, procera esse statura (to be tall); dignitate corporis placere (to be of graceful appearance). (β) IMPROPR., Of other things, crescere (general term): incrementum capere (to increase, to grow bigger, more considerable): augescere: augeri (to increase in number): ingravescere (in strength; e.g., of an illness or evil).

To be produced, etc., gigni: nasci (to come to light or forth): provenire (to come forth in a growing manner): to grow in or upon anything, innasci in aliqua re or alicui rei: to grow on anything, annasci in aliqua re: no wood grows in this country, haec terra est sterilis materiae: on the banks of no river does more grass grow than on this, gignendae herbae nullus fluvius est aptior quam hic.

To become, fieri: evadere (to spring or come forth). ☞ To “grow” with an adjective, is mostly translated by inchoative verbs in scere: to grow dry, arescere; gray, canescere; feeble, languescere; lukewarm, tepescere; green, virescere; useless by age, exolescere; rich, ditescere, or (ex mendico) divitem fieri; sweet, dulcescere; young, juvenescere; mild, mitescere; soft, mollescere; fat, pinguescere; hard, durescere; lean, macrescere; tame, mansuescere; ripe, maturescere; black, nigrescere, etc. [Vid: the respective adjectives, Old, etc.] : to grow humble, se or animum submittere; submisse se gerere: to grow obsolete, obsolescere: grown out of use, obsoletus (e.g., verbum): to grow old, senescere; senem fieri: to grow worse, deteriorem fieri (e.g., of anybody’s circumstances); also, in pejorem partem verti et mutari: in pejus mutari: aggravescere: ingravescere (of an illness); pejorem fieri (of an invalid, Cels.): to have grown worse, deteriore statu or conditione esse, pejore loco esse (of anybody’s circumstances): to grow blind, lumina oculorum or lumina, aspectum amittere: to grow in favor [Vid: FAVOR]: to grow up, adolescere. To be grown up, adultum esse: to grow together, coalescere alicui rei: to grow poor, ad inopiam, or egestatem or paupertatem redigi: to grow tired or weary of anything, satietas alicujus rei me capit.

grow v.

TRANS., serere (general term): arare: exarare (of corn; e.g., multum frumenti exarare): to grow vines, vinum serere or conserere; vites ponere; vitem colere; vineam instituere: vinetum instituere or ponere (the latter = to plant a vineyard): the growing of potatoes, *solanorum tuberosorum cultura: the Gauls consider it disgraceful to grow their own corn, Galli turpe esse ducunt, frumentum manu quaerere. Vid: also, To CULTIVATE.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for grow?: The usual Latin words for “grow” are crēscō, succrēscō, gignō; also nāscor, prōveniō, faciō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.