We think of the word "crescent" as a noun. It's a shape. And it's also the shape of a waxing or waning moon. But did you ever stop to think about where the word came from? Well, in both Latin and Italian, crescere means "to grow." So a crescent moon is a growing (or waxing) moon. In Italian, we talk about la luna crescente or, when it's waning, la luna calante. Calare means "to lower," "to lessen."

Calare la pasta e mescolare ogni tre, cinque minuti.

Lower the pasta [into the pot] and stir every three to five minutes.

Caption 43, Vocaboliamo La pasta - Part 1

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So both calare and crescere can be transitive.

Devi crescere una figlia

You have to raise a daughter,

Caption 59, Com'è umano lui Film - Part 12

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But they can both be intransitive, too. When these verbs are used transitively, their compound tenses are formed with the auxiliary avere; when used intransitively, the auxiliary is essere. The transitive and intransitive usages have similar meanings.

Crescere sembra difficile

Growing up seems difficult

Caption 55, JAMS S1 EP 10 - Part 1

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When we talk about the moon's phases in Italian, we use the present participle of the verbs crescere and calare: crescente and calante, respectively. 

Gobba a ponente, luna crescente.

Hump on the west, the moon is waxing.

Caption 23, L'Eredità -Quiz TV La sfida dei sei. Puntata 2 - Part 11

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In the previous example, the noun gobba is used to describe the moon. The hump or hunchback form is either on the left side or the right side, and that determines whether the moon is waxing or waning. 

Sì, la gobba a levante, a Est è luna calante.

Yes, the hump to the east, in the East, it's a waning moon.

Caption 22, L'Eredità -Quiz TV La sfida dei sei. Puntata 2 - Part 11

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The moon has been visible to us since the beginning of time, and it's logical to describe it in human terms. We have the man in the moon. Farmers, of which there used to be many more than there are now, would look into the sky and see a shape that might correspond to something in their life. Certainly, the scythe (large version) and sickle (small version) were tools farm workers used every day to cut crops and grass. The moon's phases were important to determining when to plant and when to reap, so farmers paid attention to the moon. 

An old-time agricultural tool is la falce (the scythe). It has the shape of a crescent. That's why Italians might use the word "falce" to describe a moon, which is either waxing or waning, but which has the shape of a scythe, or a sickle, the smaller size instrument of the same type, called un falcetto in Italian.

This image is used in a poem by Gabriele D'Annunzio, also set to music by the composer Ottorino Respighi: Here are the first few lines. 

O falce di luna calante
che brilli su l’acque deserte,
o falce d’argento, qual mèsse di sogni
ondeggia al tuo mite chiarore qua giù!

O crescent [scythe] of a waning moon
You that shine on the deserted waters,
O silver crescent [scythe], what harvest of dreams 
flutters In your pale glow down here!

These days, people rarely use scythes in Italy, but they do often use a sickle, un falcetto. 

Thanks for reading. 

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