What is "accretion"

accretion \ac*cre"tion\ ([a^]k*kr[=e]"sh[u^]n), n. [L. accretio, fr. accrescere to increase. Cf. Crescent, Increase, Accrue.]

1. The act of increasing by natural growth; esp. the increase of organic bodies by the internal accession of parts; organic growth.
   --Arbuthnot.

2. The act of increasing, or the matter added, by an accession of parts externally; an extraneous addition; as, an accretion of earth.

   A mineral . . . augments not by growth, but by accretion.
   --Owen.

   To strip off all the subordinate parts of his narrative as a later accretion.
   --Sir G. C. Lewis.

3. Concretion; coherence of separate particles; as, the accretion of particles so as to form a solid mass.

4. A growing together of parts naturally separate, as of the fingers or toes.
   --Dana.

5. (Law)

   1. The adhering of property to something else, by which the owner of one thing becomes possessed of a right to another; generally, gain of land by the washing up of sand or soil from the sea or a river, or by a gradual recession of the water from the usual watermark.

   2. Gain to an heir or legatee, by failure of a coheir to the same succession, or a co-legatee of the same thing, to take his share.
      --Wharton. Kent.

1610s, from Latin accretionem (nominative accretio) "an increasing, a growing larger" (as of the waxing moon), noun of action from past participle stem of accrescere, from ad- "to" (see ad-) + crescere "grow" (see crescent).

n. 1 The act of increasing by natural growth; especially the increase of organic bodies by the internal accession of parts; organic growth. 2 The act of increasing, or the matter added, by an accession of parts externally; an extraneous addition; as, an ''accretion'' of earth. 3 Something added externally to promote growth the external growth of an item. 4 concretion; coherence of separate particles; as, the ''accretion'' of particles so as to form a solid mass. 5 (context biology English) A growing together of parts naturally separate, as of the fingers or toes. 6 (context geology English) The gradual increase of land by deposition of water-borne sediment. 7 (context legal English) The adhering of property to something else, by which the owner of one thing becomes possessed of a right to another; generally, gain of land by the washing up of sand or sail from the sea or a river, or by a gradual recession of the water from the usual watermark. 8 (context legal English) Gain to an heir or legatee; failure of a coheir to the same succession, or a co-legatee of the same thing, to take his share percentage.

1. n. an increase by natural growth or addition [syn: accumulation]

2. something contributing to growth or increase; "he scraped away the accretions of paint"; "the central city surrounded by recent accretions"

3. (astronomy) the formation of a celestial object by the effect of gravity pulling together surrounding objects and gases

4. (biology) growth by addition as by the adhesion of parts or particles

5. (geology) an increase in land resulting from alluvial deposits or water-borne sediment

6. (law) an increase in a beneficiary's share in an estate (as when a co-beneficiary dies or fails to meet some condition or rejects the inheritance)

Accretion may refer to:

In astrophysics, accretion is the accumulation of particles into a massive object by gravitationally attracting more matter, typically gaseous matter, in an accretion disk. Most astronomical objects, such as galaxies, stars, and planets, are formed by accretion processes.

Accretion is a process by which material is added to a tectonic plate or a landmass. This material may be sediment, volcanic arcs, seamounts or other igneous features.

Accretion is an atmospheric science term for when an ice crystal or snowflake hits a supercooled liquid droplet, which then freeze together. This increases the size of the water particle. A common example of this that is visible to people is graupel.

Accretion is the process of coastal sediment returning to the visible portion of a beach or foreshore following a submersion event. A sustainable beach or foreshore often goes through a cycle of submersion during rough weather then accretion during calmer periods. If a coastline is not in a healthy sustainable state, then erosion can be more serious and accretion does not fully restore the original volume of the visible beach or foreshore leading to permanent beach loss.

Category:Coastal geography Category:Deposition (geology)

Accretion is defined as the gradual collection of something over time. In meteorology it is the process of accumulation of frozen water as precipitation over time as it descends through the atmosphere. The collection of these particles eventually forms snow or hail in clouds and depending on lower atmosphere temperatures may become rain or sleet. Accretion is the basis for cloud formation and can also be seen as water accumulates on the particulate matter and form jet contrails. This is because water vapor in the air requires condensation nuclei to form large droplets of solid or liquid water.

In finance, accretion is the change in the price of a bond bought at a discount to the par value of the bond. Accretion can be thought of as the antonym of amortization.

Accretion, in a corporate finance environment, is essentially the actual value created after a particular transaction. A deal will always be earnings accretive if the acquirer's price-to-earnings ratio is greater than the target's price-to-earnings ratio, including the acquisition premium.

In accounting, accretion expense is the expense created when updating the present value of an instrument. For example, if you originally recognize the present value of a liability at $650, which has a future value of $1000, every year you must increase the PV of the liability as it comes closer to its FV. If the above liability, for example an asset retirement obligation, had a discount rate of 10%, accretion expense in Yr.1 would be $65 and the PV of the liability at the end of Yr.1 would be $715.

In the context of mergers and acquisitions, accretion is referred to as the increase in a company's earnings per share on a pro forma basis following the transaction. For example, if Company A has $1.00 earnings per share and after acquiring Company B, the combined company's earnings per share is $1.25, then the acquisition would be referred to as 25% accretive. In contrast, a transaction is dilutive if the earnings per share decreases following the transaction.