decay
Definitions
General English
- noun the natural process of going bad or of becoming damaged, e.g. when things are not looked after properly
- verb to go bad or to become damaged in this way
General Science
- noun the formation of dental caries in teeth
- noun the process of breaking into pieces
Agriculture
- noun a process by which tissues become rotten and decompose, caused by the action of microorganisms and oxygen
Computing
Construction
- In wood, disintegration caused by the action of fungi.
- Deterioration or crumbling caused by oxidation, freezing, or exposure to other elements. The term is often applied to the deleterious effects suffered by exposed concrete.
Electronics
- A gradual decrease in the magnitude of a quantity, such as current, voltage, luminescence, or magnetic flux.
- The spontaneous disintegration of unstable atomic nuclei, such as those of uranium or curium, mainly through the emission of alpha, beta, or gamma rays. Also called disintegration (2), or radioactivity (1).
- A specific instance of decay (2), such as that occurring when an atom of uranium-238 emits an alpha particle to form an atom of thorium-234. Also called disintegration (3), or radioactivity (2).
- The reduction over time of the radioactivity of a substance, due to decay (2). Also called disintegration (4), or radioactivity (3).
- synonymdisintegration
- To break into smaller entities, or into constituent components.
Food
- noun damage caused to tissue or a tooth by the action of microorganisms, especially bacteria
Aviation
- noun the falling apart or destruction of something
Commerce
- noun the decision to stop producing some goods or supplies and to buy them in instead
Economics
- Another term for fragmentation. Used by Feenstra (1998).
Origin & History of “decay”
The notion underlying decay and its close relative decadence is of a ‘falling off’ from a condition of health or perfection. Decay comes from Old Northern French decair, a descendant of vulgar Latin *dēcadere, which in turn came from Latin dēcidere, a compound verb formed from the prefix dē- ‘down, off, away’ and cadere ‘fall’ (source of English case and a wide range of related words). Decadence (16th c.) was acquired via the medieval derivative dēcadentia.
To the same word-family belongs deciduous (17th c.), from Latin dēciduus, literally denoting the ‘falling off’ of leaves from trees.
To the same word-family belongs deciduous (17th c.), from Latin dēciduus, literally denoting the ‘falling off’ of leaves from trees.
