different between excrescent vs excrescency

English

Etymology

From Latin excr?sc?ns, present participle of excr?sc?.

Noun

excrescent (plural excrescents)

1. A growing mutation, usually abnormal.
2. (phonetics) A sound in a word without etymological reason.

   "B" in "nimble" is an excrescent.

Related terms

• excrescence

Adjective

excrescent (comparative more excrescent, superlative most excrescent)

1. Growing out in an abnormal or morbid manner or as a superfluity.

English

Etymology

From excrescence +? -ency.

Noun

excrescency (plural excrescencies)

1. An excrescent state or condition; the quality or fact of growing out of something; abnormal or excessive development
2. (obsolete) An exuberant outburst; an extravagance.
3. (obsolete) An excrescence, and excrescent growth; an outgrowth.
   • 1665, Robert Hooke, Micrographia, XVIII:

     And having enquir'd into the History of Cork, I find it reckoned as an excrescency of the bark of a certain Tree […].

4. (obsolete) An abnormal, morbid, or unsightly outgrowth.

Related terms

• excrescence
• excrescent

References

• John A. Simpson and Edward S. C. Weiner, editors (1989) , “excrescency”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, ?ISBN