a. [ Cf. F. cumulatif. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Composed of parts in a heap; forming a mass; aggregated. “As for knowledge which man receiveth by teaching, it is cumulative, not original.” Bacon [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Augmenting, gaining, or giving force, by successive additions; as, a cumulative argument, i. e., one whose force increases as the statement proceeds. [ 1913 Webster ]

The argument . . . is in very truth not logical and single, but moral and cumulative. Trench. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Law) (a) Tending to prove the same point to which other evidence has been offered; -- said of evidence. (b) Given by same testator to the same legatee; -- said of a legacy. Bouvier. Wharton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Cumulative action (Med.), that action of certain drugs, by virtue of which they produce, when administered in small doses repeated at considerable intervals, the same effect as if given in a single large dose. --
Cumulative poison, a poison the action of which is cumulative. --
Cumulative vote or
Cumulative system of voting (Politics), that system which allows to each voter as many votes as there are persons to be voted for, and permits him to accumulate these votes upon one person, or to distribute them among the candidates as he pleases. [ 1913 Webster ]