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.
1
To heap up in a mass; to pile up; to collect or bring together (either literally or figuratively), often gradually and without active intent.
He wishes to accumulate a sum of money.
In these stellar pairings, if the two stars are close together, the white dwarf will siphon mass away from its companion and have an outburst called a nova. And when the white dwarf accumulates too much mass, it will collapse and explode in a supernova.2024 August 21, Ashley Strickland, “An unusual object is moving so fast it could escape the Milky Way. Scientists aren’t certain what it is”, in CNN, archived from the original on 24 Sep 2024:
2
To gradually grow or increase in quantity or number.
With her company going bankrupt, her divorce, and a gambling habit, debts started to accumulate so she had to sell her house.
Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, / Where wealth accumulates, and men decay.1770, Oliver Goldsmith, The Deserted Village, lines 17–18:
3
EducationDated To take a higher degree at the same time with a lower degree, or at a shorter interval than usual.
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.