decay means rot; any processes or result of organic matter being gradually decomposed, especially by microbial action. It carries an Arena rating of 1409, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, decay ranks #10 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #256 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #2,096 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,916 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words.
decay is pronounced /dɪˈkeɪ/.
Why “decay” is a great word
The process of gradual decomposition or deterioration, especially of organic matter, or the state resulting from it. From Middle English decaien (to decrease) and decai (deterioration), from Anglo-Norman decaeir, from Vulgar Latin *dēcadere, a restored form of Latin dēcidere, from de- (down, away) + cadere (to fall). Unlike fester, which implies the angry corruption of living tissue, or decompose, a neutral term for biological breakdown, decay is a more encompassing, elegiac decline. It is the soft give of a rotten apple under the thumb, the sweet-sour breath of fallen fruit in an autumn orchard, the faint chill of radon seeping from granite foundations—a universal grammar of return, where all structures are merely pauses on the way to becoming dust.
Etymology
From Middle English decaien (“to decrease, diminish”) and decai (“deterioration, decline in value”), from Anglo-Norman decaeir (“to fall away, decay, decline”), from Vulgar Latin *dēcadere, etymologically restored form of Latin dēcidere (“to fall down, to fail, sink or perish”), from de- (“of, from, away, down”) + cadere (“to fall”). Compare decadent and decadence.
noun
- Rot; any processes or result of organic matter being gradually decomposed, especially by microbial action.e.g.“tooth decay/dental decay—wood-decay fungi—bacterial decay—photochemical decay”
- Deterioration of condition; loss of status, quality, strength, or fortune.e.g.“civic and moral decay—systemic decay—fall into decay—urban decay—arrested decay—memory decay”
- Radioactive decay; decomposition of an atom or its nucleus.e.g.“alpha decay—gamma decay—fission decay—decay chain”
- Particle decay; decomposition of a sub-atomic particle.
- Continuous decrease of a quantity.e.g.“exponential decay—decay rate—orbital decay—decay time—decay constant—time decay”
- Overthrow, destruction, ruin, death.
- Array decay.
verb
- To deteriorate, to get worse, to lose strength or health, to decline in quality.e.g.“The pair loved to take pictures in the decaying hospital on forty-third street.”
- To deteriorate, to get worse, to lose strength or health, to decline in quality.; To undergo bit rot, that is, gradual degradation.
- To deteriorate, to get worse, to lose strength or health, to decline in quality.; To undergo software rot, that is, to fail to be updated in a changing environment, so as to eventually become legacy or obsolete.
- To deteriorate, to get worse, to lose strength or health, to decline in quality.; To undergo prolonged reduction in altitude (above the orbited body).e.g.“Damaged on lift-off, Skylab was left in orbit until its orbit decayed.” — 2009, Francis Lyall, Paul B. Larsen, Space Law: A Treatise, page 120:
- To rot, to go bad.e.g.“The cat's body decayed rapidly.”
- To change by undergoing fission, by emitting radiation, or by capturing or losing one or more electrons; to undergo radioactive decay.e.g.“Uranium decays to radium through a long series of steps with a cumulative half-life of 4.4 billion years.” — 2005, Encyclopedia of Earth Science, edited by Timothy M. Kusky, →ISBN, page 349:
- To undergo optical decay, that is, to relax to a less excited state, usually by emitting a photon or phonon.
- Loss of airspeed due to drag.
- To cause to rot or deteriorate.e.g.“The extreme humidity decayed the wooden sculptures in the museum's collection in a matter of years.”
- Of an array: to lose its type and dimensions and be reduced to a pointer, for example when passed to a function.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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