accumulate

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. verb get or gather together
  2. verb collect or gather

Etymology

First attested c. 1487; from Middle English accumylaten, borrowed from Latin accumulātus, perfect passive participle of accumulō (“to amass, pile up”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), formed from ad (“to, towards, at”) + cumulō (“to heap”), from cumulus (“a heap”) + -ō (first conjugation verb-forming suffix). Cognate with French accumuler.

In classic literature

Synonyms

roll up, collect, pile up, amass, compile, hoard

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