wuchern

From Middle High German wuochern, from Old High German wuohharōn, derived from wuohhar (“harvest, revenue”), whence modern German Wucher (“usury”). Compare Dutch woekeren (“to practise usury; to overgrow”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈvuːxɐn/

wuchern (third-person singular simple present wuchert, past tense wucherte, past participle gewuchert, auxiliary haben)

1. (intransitive) to practise usury; to usure
2. (intransitive, + mit) to make profitable use of; usually in a non-financial sense
3. (intransitive, of plants) to overgrow
4. (intransitive, of cancer) to develop metastases

• entwuchern
• überwuchern
• verwuchern