augment

Etymology

From Middle English augmenten, from Middle French augmenter, from Old French augmenter, from Late Latin augmentare (“to increase”), from Latin augmentum (“an increase, growth”), from augere (“to increase”).

verb

1. (transitive) To increase; to make larger or supplement.
   The money from renting out a spare room can augment a salary.
2. (intransitive, reflexive) To grow; to increase; to become greater.
3. (music) To slow the tempo or meter, e.g. for a dramatic or stately passage.
4. (music) To increase an interval, especially the largest interval in a triad, by a half step (chromatic semitone).
5. (grammar, transitive) To add an augment to.

noun

1. (grammar) In some Indo-European languages, a prefix e- (a- in Sanskrit) indicating a past tense of a verb.
   The augment is found in Greek, Indo-Iranian, Armenian and Phrygian.
2. (grammar) In some Bantu languages, an additional vowel prepended to the noun prefix.
3. An increase.