a suffix of adjectives borrowed from Latin, where it had an inchoative force; often corresponding to verbs in -esce and nouns in -escence: convalescent; recrudescent.
Origin
< Latin, stem of -ēscēns, present participle ending
British Dictionary definitions for -escent
-escent
suffix
1.
beginning to be, do, show, etc: convalescent, luminescent
Derived Forms
-escence, suffix:forming_nouns
Word Origin
via Old French from Latin -ēscent-, stem of present participial suffix of -ēscere, ending of inceptive verbs
Word Origin and History for -escent
word-forming element meaning "beginning, becoming, tending to be," from Latin -escentem (nominative -escens), ending of present participles of verbs in -escere.