Meanings
adjectivepetrescent (not comparable)
- archaicnot comparablePetrifying; converting into stone.
in the solid substance of the stone; […]this compact and ponderous body was made stony, by the supervention of some petrescent liquor upon porous earth
1672, Robert Boyle, Origin and Virtues of Gems
Origin
- Latinpetra“rock, stone”
- Englishpetrescent
Latin petra (“rock, stone”), from Ancient Greek.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with petrescent
crescentfluorescentantidepressantincandescentconvalescentsuppressantiridescentincessantluminescentquiescentpubescentdepressanteffervescentopalescentpearlescentflorescentevanescentelectroluminescenttumescentphosphorescentessentprepubescentsenescentobsolescent
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
petrescent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/petrescent
MLA
“petrescent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/petrescent. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “petrescent,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/petrescent.
Source: petrescent on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.