augment

Verb

augment (third-person singular simple present augments, present participle augmenting, simple past and past participle augmented)

1. (transitive) To increase; to make larger or supplement.
   • The money from renting out a spare room can augment a salary.
   • [T]he fauour of Princes and Magiſtrates noryſheth, augmenteth, and amplyfyeth all artes and ſciences by liberalitie, and extynguyſheth the ſame by miſerable couetouſnes and parcimonie.1561, Richard Eden, “To the Ryght Worshypfull Syr Wyllyam Garrerd Knyght, and Master Thomas Lodge, Aldermen of the Citie of London, and Gouernours of the Honorable Felowshyp or Societie, aswell of...
2. (intransitive, reflexive) To grow; to increase; to become greater.
3. To slow the tempo or meter, e.g. for a dramatic or stately passage.
4. To increase an interval, especially the largest interval in a triad, by a half step (chromatic semitone).
5. (transitive) To add an augment to.

Noun

UK/ˈɔːɡmɛnt/US/ˈɔɡmɛnt/

augment (plural augments)

1. (Indo-European languages) In some languages, a prefix *é- (अ- (a-) in Sanskrit, ἐ- (e-) in Greek) indicating a past tense of a verb.
   • The augment is found in Greek, Indo-Iranian, Armenian and Phrygian.
2. (Celtic languages) Especially Old Irish, a preverb, usually ro-, used to give a verb a resultative or potential meaning.
   • Fundamentally the augment characterizes a verbal action viewed from a non-contemporary standpoint, either the moment of speaking (or writing) or a further verbal action.1987, Kim McCone, chapter IX, in The early Irish verb, 2nd edition, Maynooth: An Sagart, published 1997, →ISBN, section 3.1, page 93
3. (Bantu languages) In some languages, an additional vowel prepended to the noun prefix.
4. An increase.