"to bring into being," early 15c., from Latin creatus, past participle of creare "to make, bring forth, produce, procreate, beget, cause," related to Ceres and to crescere "arise, be born, increase, grow," from PIE root *ker- (2) "to grow." De Vaan writes that the original meaning of creare "was 'to make grow', which can still be found in older texts ...." Related: Created; creating.