Accretion

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  accretion \ac*cre"tion\ ([a^]k*kr[=e]"sh[u^]n), n. [L. accretio,
     fr. accrescere to increase. Cf. {Crescent}, {Increase},
     {Accrue}.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. The act of increasing by natural growth; esp. the increase
        of organic bodies by the internal accession of parts;


        organic growth. --Arbuthnot.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. The act of increasing, or the matter added, by an
        accession of parts externally; an extraneous addition; as,
        an accretion of earth.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              A mineral . . . augments not by growth, but by
              accretion.                            --Owen.
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              To strip off all the subordinate parts of his
              narrative as a later accretion.       --Sir G. C.
                                                    Lewis.
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     3. Concretion; coherence of separate particles; as, the
        accretion of particles so as to form a solid mass.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. A growing together of parts naturally separate, as of the
        fingers or toes. --Dana.
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     5. (Law)
        (a) The adhering of property to something else, by which
            the owner of one thing becomes possessed of a right to
            another; generally, gain of land by the washing up of
            sand or soil from the sea or a river, or by a gradual
            recession of the water from the usual watermark.
        (b) Gain to an heir or legatee, by failure of a coheir to
            the same succession, or a co-legatee of the same
            thing, to take his share. --Wharton. Kent.
            [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  accretion
       n 1: an increase by natural growth or addition [syn: {accumulation}]
       2: something contributing to growth or increase; "he scraped
          away the accretions of paint"; "the central city
          surrounded by recent accretions"
       3: (astronomy) the formation of a celestial object by the
          effect of gravity pulling together surrounding objects and
          gases
       4: (biology) growth by addition as by the adhesion of parts or
          particles
       5: (geology) an increase in land resulting from alluvial
          deposits or water-borne sediment
       6: (law) an increase in a beneficiary's share in an estate (as
          when a co-beneficiary dies or fails to meet some condition
          or rejects the inheritance)

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  ACCRETION. The increase of land by the washing of the seas or rivers. Hale,
  De Jure Maris, 14. Vide Alluvion; Avulsion.