grossissait

Grossissait is the imperfect indicative form of the French verb grossir, meaning to grow or to gain weight. It is used to describe an ongoing or repeated process of increasing in size or mass in the past. In this tense, the action is viewed as incomplete or habitual rather than completed.

The principal senses of grossir include:

- Gaining weight or fat: for example, il grossissait pendant l’hiver means he was gaining weight during winter.

- Growing in size or extent: the object or person becomes larger over time, such as une plante qui grossissait rapidement, a plant that was growing quickly.

- Figurative or quantitative increase: numbers, sums, or amounts can "grossir," as in une ville qui grossissait sa population or les coûts qui grossissaient.

In addition to its primary meanings, grossir can be used in technical contexts to mean enlargement or magnification, such as enlarging an image or document in software or printing. In this sense, the verb conveys the idea of making something larger rather than simply growing physically.

Conjugation notes:

In the imperfect, the verb forms are je grossissais, tu grossissais, il grossissait, nous grossissions, vous grossissiez, ils grossissaient. The present tense is grossit/ grossissent depending on the subject, the passé composé uses avoir + grossi, and other tenses follow regular -ir conjugation patterns. The related noun is grossissement, indicating the process or result of growing or enlarging.

Etymology: grossir derives from gros, meaning thick or large, with the standard -ir verb morphology, reflecting a root tied to size or weight.