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Definition: Decay |
DecayNoun1. The process of gradually becoming inferior. 2. A gradual decrease; as of stored charge or current. 3. The organic phenomenon of rotting. 4. An inferior state resulting from the process of decaying; "the corpse was in an advanced state of decay"; "the house had fallen into a serious state of decay and disrepair". 5. The spontaneous disintegration of a radioactive substance along with the emission of ionizing radiation. Verb1. Lose a stored charge, magnetic flux, or current; of particles. 2. Fall into decay or ruin; "The unoccupied house started to decay". 3. Undergo decay or decomposition. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "decay" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Computing | Decay n.,vi [from nuclear physics] An automatic conversion which is applied to most array-valued expressions in C; they `decay into' pointer-valued expressions pointing to the array's first element. This term is borderline techspeak, but is not used in the official standard for the language. Source: Jargon File. |
Aerospace | Decrease of a radioactive substance because of nuclear emission of alpha or beta particles, positrons, or gamma rays. See radioactivity. In beta decay, for example, the emission of a -particle, i.e., an electron, causes radioactive change into a daughter element of the same atomic weight as the parent element but of atomic number higher by 1. (references) |
Biology & Biotechnology | Spontaneous nuclear disintegration of radioactive isotopes; frequency of occurrence of decay is described by half-life. Source: European Union. (references) |
| Decomposition of wood by fungi and other micro-organisms, resulting in changes of texture and colour. Source: European Union. (references) | |
Electrical Engineering | The decrease in stored information not caused by erasing or writing. Source: European Union. (references) |
| Gradual reduction in the magnitude of a quantity, as of current, magnetic flux, a stored charge, or phosphorescence. Source: European Union. (references) | |
Mining | The general disaggregation of rocks; it includes the effects of both the chemical and mechanical agents of weathering with, however, a stress onthe chemical effects. (references) |
Nuclear Energy & Physics | A spontaneous nuclear transformation in which corpuscles or gamma radiation are emitted or X-radiation is emitted following orbital capture, or the nucleus undergoes spontaneous nuclear fission. Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Decomposition refers to the reduction of bodies and other formerly living organisms into simpler forms of matter; and most particularly to the fate of the body, after death. The science which studies decomposition generally is called taphonomy.The rate and the manner in which a human or animal body decomposes is strongly affected by a number of factors. In a roughly descending degree of importance, those factors include:
Decomposition begins at the moment of death. At this stage it is caused by two factors: autolysis, the breaking down of tissues by the body's own internal chemicals and enzymes; and putrefaction, the breakdown of tissues by bacteria. These processes release gases that are the chief source of the characteristic odour of dead bodies.
- Temperature
- Access by insects
- Burial, and depth of burial
- Access by carnivores or rodents
- Trauma, including wounds and crushing blows
- Humidity, or dryness
- Rainfall
- Body size and weight
- Prior embalming
- Clothing
- The surface the body rests on
Insects and other animals are typically the next agent of decomposition, assuming the body is accessible to them. The most important insects that are typically involved in the process include the fleshflies (Sarcophagidae) and blowflies (Calliphoridae). The green-bottle fly you see in the summer is a blowfly.
Other animals, including coyotes, dogs, wolves, foxes, rats, and mice may eat a body if it is accessible to them. Some of these animals will also remove and scatter bones.
Embalming affects the process, slowing it somewhat, but does not forestall it indefinitely. Embalmers typically pay the greatest attention to the parts of the body seen by mourners, such as the face and hands. The chemicals that are used in embalming will repel most insects, and slow the process of bacterial putrefaction, but will not preserve a corpse indefinitely. In sufficiently dry environments, an embalmed body may end up mummified.
The time for the reduction of an embalmed body to be reduced to a skeleton varies greatly. An unembalmed adult body buried six feet deep in ordinary soil without a coffin normally takes ten to twelve years to decompose fully to a skeleton, given a temperate climate. Immerse the body in water, and skeletonization occurs approximately four times faster; expose it to air, and it occurs eight times faster. The skeleton itself is not permanent; acids in soils can reduce it to unrecognisable components as well. Bodies exposed to cool, damp soil may develop a waxy substance called adipocere, caused by the action of soil chemicals on the body's proteins and fats. The formation of adipocere slows decomposition by inhibiting the bacteria that cause putrefaction.
Various sciences study the decomposition of bodies. These sciences fall under the general rubric of forensics, because the usual motive for study of the decomposition of human bodies is to determine the time and cause of death, for legal purposes:
Reference: Death to Dust: What Happens to Dead Bodies by Kenneth V. Iserson, M.D.; Galen Press, Tucson AZ (1994) ISBN 1-883620-07-4
- Forensic pathology studies the clues to the cause of death found in the corpse as a medical phenomenon
- Forensic entomology studies the insects and other vermin found in corpses; the sequence in which they appear, the kinds of insects, and where they are found in their life cycle are clues that can shed light on the time of death , the length of a corpse's exposure, and whether the corpse was moved.
- Forensic anthropology is the branch of physical anthropology that studies skeletons and human remains, usually to seek clues as to the identity, race, and sex of their former owner.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Decomposition."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Radioactive decay is the process by which radionuclides decay, emitting ionising radiation. Such nuclear reactions involve a change in the composition of the nucleus, in contrast to chemical reactions which involve only an exchange or sharing of electrons.There are forces in the nucleus that oppose each other, the Strong force holding Protons and Neutrons to each other and the electrostatic force of protons repelling other protons. Under certain arrangements of protons and neutrons the electrostatic force can cause instability in the nucleus causing it to decay. It will continue to decay until it reaches a stable combination.
The observed forms of decay are alpha decay, beta decay, Electron capture, neutron emission, positron emission, proton emission, and spontaneous fission. The latter five forms of decay occur very quickly within products of nuclear reactions, and hence are not often seen on earth outside a nuclear reactor. By contrast alpha and beta decay are seen in the decay chains of radioactive materials.
Neutron emission is also important as the most important reason for the difficulty of manufacturing a nuclear bomb from lower grades of plutonium.
Radioactive decay is observed astronomically in supernova, and the light curve of supernova is generated via the decay of radioactive nickel into iron.
Many radionuclides have several different modes of decay, each with its own probability. Bismuth-212, for example, has three.
All radioactive decay is also associated with emission of gamma radiation in varying degrees.
Nearly all decay products are themselves radioactive, giving rise to decay chains which eventually end in a stable nuclide.
External Links
- Decay chains
- Uranium-238 decay chain
- Sulphur-38 decay chain
- List of decay modes
- More examples
- Uranium-232 decay chain, Bismuth-212 decay modes
- Radiochemistry Primer
- Nuclear stability
- A page explaining nuclear decay
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Radioactive decay."
Synonyms: DecaySynonyms: decline (n), decomposition (n), disintegration (n), radioactive decay (n), crumble (v), decompose (v), delapidate (v), disintegrate (v). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Adversity | Go downhill, go to rack and ruin; (destruction), go to the dogs; fall, fall from one's high estate; decay, sink, decline, go down in the world; have seen better days; bring down one's gray hairs with sorrow to the grave; come to grief; be all over, be up with; bring a wasp's nest about one's ears, bring a hornet's nest about one's ears. |
Contraction | Verb: become small, become smaller; lessen, decrease; grow less, dwindle, shrink, contract, narrow, shrivel, collapse, wither, lose flesh, wizen, fall away, waste, wane, ebb; decay; (deteriorate). |
Death | Euthanasia; break up of the system; natural death, natural decay; sudden death, violent death; untimely end, watery grave; debt of nature; suffocation, asphyxia; fatal disease. (disease); death blow. (killing). |
Deterioration | Run to seed, go to seed, run to waste swale, sweal; lapse, be the worse for; sphacelate: break, break down; spring a leak, crack, start; shrivel; (contract); fade, go off, wither, molder, rot, rankle, decay, go bad; go to decay, fall into decay; " fall into the sear and yellow leaf", rust, crumble, shake; totter, totter to its fall; perish; die. |
Decay, dilapidation, ravages of time, wear and tear; corrosion, erosion; moldiness, rottenness; moth and rust, dry rot, blight, marasmus, atrophy, collapse; disorganization; delabrement; (destruction).; aphid, Aphis, plant louse, puceron; vinefretter, vinegrub. | |
Disease | Delicacy, loss of health, invalidation, cachexy; cachexia, atrophy, marasmus; indigestion, dyspepsia; decay; (deterioration); decline, consumption, palsy, paralysis, prostration. |
Nonincrease, Decrease | Verb: decrease, diminish, lessen; abridge; (shorten); shrink; (contract); drop off, fall off, tail off; fall away, waste, wear; wane, ebb, decline; descend; subside; melt away, die away; retire into the shade, hide its diminished head, fall to a low ebb, run low, languish, decay, crumble. |
Phrase: " a gilded halo hovering round decay "; " fine by degrees and beautifully less ". | |
Oblivion | Short memory, treacherous memory, poor memory, loose memory, slippery memory, failing memory; decay of memory, failure of memory, lapse of memory; waters of Lethe, waters of oblivion. |
Oldness | Noun: oldness; Adjective: age, antiquity; cobwebs of antiquity. maturity; decline, decay; senility. |
Uncleanness | Defilement, contamination; Verb: defoedation; soilure, soiliness; abomination; leaven; taint, tainture; fetor. decay; putrescence, putrefaction; corruption; mold, must, mildew, dry rot, mucor, rubigo. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Decay |
| English words defined with "decay": tooth decay. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "decay": alpha decay ♦ bit decay ♦ decay constant, Decay heat, decay product ♦ period decay ♦ Radon Decay Products, rate of decay. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "decay": sleazy. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Because I believe you will buy booze with it. I just want to get from the car to my office without being confronted by the decay of western society (Liar Liar; writing credit: Paul Guay; Stephen Mazur) Time is an abstract concept created by carbon-based life-forms to monitor their ongoing decay. (The Brak Show; writing credit: Jim Fortier; Andy Merrill) Look at all these people, trying to stave off the inevitable decay of their bodies (Hannah and Her Sisters; writing credit: Woody Allen) Look at all these people, trying to stave off the inevitable decay of their bodies (Hannah and Her Sisters; writing credit: Woody Allen) | |
Clever | Prevent truth decay. Brush up on your Bible. (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Decay (1998) Fragments of Decay (1983) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
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Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | "Rope" or decay stage of tornado. During "Sound Chase", a joint project of NSSL and Mississippi State University. Credit: National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL). |  | Give Your Child A Healthy Smile : Prevent Baby Bottle Tooth Decay. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |
 | 7 Out Of 10 Navajo Children Have Baby Bottle Tooth Decay! : This Is Preventable!. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |  | Fluoride: : Guardian Against Tooth Decay. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |
 | STOP Baby Bottle Tooth Decay. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |  | If only he had been born in the days when Rome was beginning to decay!. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Decay of sawmill at Ericsburg, Minnesota. Credit: Library of Congress. | ||
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
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| "Urban decay 1" by Francis Cesar Commentary: "Urban decay and graffitis." | "Urban decay" by Gavin Whitmore Commentary: "..." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Amos Bronson Alcott | A government, for protecting business only, is but a carcass, and soon falls by its own corruption and decay. |
G. Macdonald | Age is not all decay; it is the ripening, the swelling, of the fresh life within, that withers and bursts the husk. |
John Dryden | All human things are subject to decay, and when fate summons, monarchs must obey. |
Oliver Goldsmith | Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, where wealth accumulates, and men decay. |
Prime Minister Harold Wilson | He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery. |
Publius Cornelius Tacitus | All bodies are slow in growth but rapid in decay. |
Robert Browning | Autumn wins you best by this its mute appeal to sympathy for its decay. |
William Congreve | A wit should no more be sincere, than a woman constant; one argues a decay of parts, as to other of beauty. |
William Shakespeare | When love begins to sicken and decay it uses an enforced ceremony. [Julius Caesar] |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
John Locke | 1690 | 'Tis not a change from the present state, which perhaps corruption or decay has introduced, that makes an inroad upon the government, but the tendency of it to injure or oppress the people, and to set up one part or party, with a distinction from, and an unequal subjection of the rest. (Second Treatise of Government) |
Communist Manifesto | 1848 | The other classes decay and finally disappear in the face of Modern Industry; the proletariat is its special and essential product. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | The four seemed standing at the four corners of old age, which are decay, decrepitude, ruin, and sorrow |
Absalom and Achitophel | John Dryden | A fiery soul, which, working out its way, Fretted the pygmy-body to decay, And o'er-inform'd the tenement of clay |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | And first the skins wrinkle a little and swarms of flies come to feast, and the valley is filled with the odor of sweet decay. |
Walden | Thoreau, Henry David | The waste and decay of physical life, which so often needs repair, seemed miraculously retarded in such a case, and the vital vigor stood its ground |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | So it is important to prevent decay. (references) | |
Use a fluoride toothpaste to protect teeth from decay. (references) | ||
Dry mouth can cause soreness, ulcers, infections, and tooth decay. (references) | ||
Business | As stated above, however, there is much less tooth decay in the Australian population today. (references) | |
Until recently, the emphasis in dental care has been arrestive - that is, arresting dental decay. (references) | ||
Moreover, there has been a considerable increase in the proportion of children with no caries (tooth decay). (references) | ||
Economic History | Tanzania | The road network must recover from 25 years of neglect and decay. (references) |
Russia | Across the board, Russia's infrastructure is in a state of general decay. (references) | |
Somalia | The warfare in the northwest sped up the decay already evident elsewhere in the republic. (references) | |
Human Rights | Cote d'Ivoire | During the year, overcrowding decreased; however, living conditions worsened because many prison buildings are in a state of physical decay, and the Government lacks sufficient funds to upgrade or maintain the 33 prisons. (references) |
Political Rights | Korea | Free elections do not exist, and the regime has criticized the concept of free elections and competition among political parties as an artifact of capitalist decay. (references) |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | FEMALE, n. One of the opposing, or unfair, sex. The Maker, at Creation's birth, With living things had stocked the earth. From elephants to bats and snails, They all were good, for all were males. But when the Devil came and saw He said: "By Thine eternal law Of growth, maturity, decay, These all must quickly pass away And leave untenanted the earth Unless Thou dost establish birth" -- Then tucked his head beneath his wing To laugh -- he had no sleeve -- the thing With deviltry did so accord, That he'd suggested to the Lord. The Master pondered this advice, Then shook and threw the fateful dice Wherewith all matters here below Are ordered, and observed the throw; Then bent His head in awful state, Confirming the decree of Fate. From every part of earth anew The conscious dust consenting flew, While rivers from their courses rolled To make it plastic for the mould. Enough collected (but no more, For niggard Nature hoards her store) He kneaded it to flexible clay, While Nick unseen threw some away. And then the various forms He cast, Gross organs first and finer last; No one at once evolved, but all By even touches grew and small Degrees advanced, till, shade by shade, To match all living things He'd made Females, complete in all their parts Except (His clay gave out) the hearts. "No matter," Satan cried; "with speed I'll fetch the very hearts they need" -- So flew away and soon brought back The number needed, in a sack. That night earth range with sounds of strife -- Ten million males each had a wife; That night sweet Peace her pinions spread O'er Hell -- ten million devils dead! G.J. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
James Madison | 1809-1817 | The buildings at the seat fixed by law for the present Academy are so far in decay as not to afford the necessary accommodation. |
James Monroe | 1817-1825 | None of the larger ships have been or will be launched for the present, the object being to protect all which may not be required for immediate service from decay by suitable buildings erected over them. |
Andrew Jackson | 1829-1837 | Those not wanted for this object must lay in the harbors, where without proper covering they rapidly decay, and even under the best precautions for their preservation must soon become useless. |
Herbert C. Hoover | 1929-1933 | I am not prepared to believe that this indicates any decay in the moral fiber of the American people. |
Lyndon B. Johnson | 1963-1969 | In a world that has grown small and dangerous, pursuit of narrow aims could bring decay and even disaster. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Decay" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 80.96% of the time. "Decay" is used about 871 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 80.96% | 705 | 9,492 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 14.45% | 126 | 28,512 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 4.47% | 39 | 55,036 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.11% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 871 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "decay": alpha decay ♦ atomic decay ♦ beta decay ♦ bit decay ♦ decay damage ♦ decay fungus ♦ decay heat removal pump ♦ decay of morals ♦ decay product ♦ decay tank ♦ decay technique ♦ dental decay ♦ exponential decay ♦ fall into decay ♦ gust decay time ♦ incipient decay ♦ pulse decay time ♦ radioactive decay ♦ radioactive decay curve ♦ radioactive decay rate ♦ senile decay ♦ the decay of morals ♦ tooth decay ♦ with decay. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "decay": decay-accelerating, decay-blackened, decay-rate, decay-series. | |
Ending with "decay": beta-decay, distance-decay, semi-decay. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "decay"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | bederf (bribe, corruption, damage, depravation, go bad, injure, putrefy, rot, spoil, taint). (various references) | |
Albanian | dobësohem (become weak, dilute, ebb, fail, flag, grow feeble, grow thin, lag, languish, melt, reduce, relax, sink, slip, tone down, wane, weaken, wilt), zhezhit (putrefy, rot), shkatërrohem (be scattered, crumble, deteriorate, dilapidate, totter), shkatërrim (breakdown, breakup, collapse, decimation, demolition, depredation, desolation, destruction, devastation, dissolution, downfall, havoc, mess, ravage, ruin, wrack, wreck, wrecking), rrëzim (canting, collapse, crash, demolition, deposition, destruction, dethronement, eradiation, failure, fall, plough, plow, plump, prostration), rënie (abatement, bathos, collapse, come down, decadence, decadency, decline, decrepitude, degeneracy, degradation, degression, depression, descent, dilapidation, downfall, drop, drop off, fall, falling, flop, incidence, lapse, letdown, precipitation, prolapse, recession, regress, spill, taper, tumble, wane), prishje (abolition, annulment, blasting, breach, breaking, breakup, chasm, collapse, corruption, damage, debasement, decomposition, defacement, defeat, defilement, depravation, depravity, deterioration, discord, dissolution, failure, obliteration, quarrel, rancidity, rancidness, rot, split up, spoilage, stymie, taint, vitiation, warp, wrecking), prishem (be destroyed, break off, decompose, deteriorate, fail, fall, fall out, fall to pieces, go awry, go phut, go wrong, pack up, perish, putrefy, quarrel, rot, run to seed, separate, take apart, touch, turn sour), marr tatëpjetë (dilapidate), kalbje (caries, putrefaction, rot, taint), kalbem (become rotten, decompose, go bad, perish, putrefy, rot, spoil). (various references) | |
Arabic | ضمحل (disappear, ooze, waste away), رم, أضعف (attenuate, break, debilitate, decline, depress, detach, diminish, disable, emaciate, emasculate, enervate, enfeeble, fade, geld, hone, hurt, impair, incapacitate, invalidate, jellify, languish, lose weight, macerate, neutralize, pall, perish, reduce, run down, sag, sap, shorten, sink, slacken, slake, soften, subside, thin, waste, weaken), إنحط (decline, degenerate, degrade, ebb, retrograde), إنحلال (decadence, degeneracy, degeneration, degradation, disintegration, dissolution, foulness, laxity, loosestrife, putrefaction, putridity, resolution, solution), الإضمحلال, التضاؤل, خراب (bane, demolition, desolation, destruction, devastation, dilapidation, havoc, perdition, rack, ravage, ruin, ruination, undoing, wrack, wreck, wreckage), بلي, ذوى (consume, flag, quail, wilt, wither), فساد (blight, corruption, decomposition, degeneration, depravation, depravity, deterioration, disintegration, dry rot, immorality, invalidity, perversion, perversity, putrefaction, putridity, rot, rottenness), عفن (corrupt, decompose, frowsty, fusty, mildew, mold, mould, musty, obnoxious, putrefaction, putrefy, putrid, rank, reek, rotten, septic, spoilt, stale, taint), تدهور (break down, breakdown, crumble, decadence, deteriorate, deterioration, drop, go to pot, go to the bad, impairment, retrogradation, run to seed, sour, suffer, tumble), تعفن (corruption, decompose, decomposition, infection, mildew, mold, molder, moldiness, mould, moulder, mouldiness, mustiness, perish, putrefaction, putrefy, putrescence, putridity, rot, sweat), تناقض تلقائي, تفسخ (decadence, degeneracy, degenerate, degeneration, degradation, derogate, disintegrate, disintegration, molder, moulder, rot), تفتت (crumble, crumbling, detritus, disintegrate), وهن (asthenia, attenuate, attenuation, damp, dampen, debilitate, debility, discouragement, distemper, droop, enervate, enfeeble, extenuate, feebleness, imitators, infirmity, invalidate, languish, languishment, languor, pall, relax, sap, shrivel, sickliness, thin, weak spot, weaken, weaklings), فسد (be corrupted, be decayed, be decomposed, be depraved, be evil, be immoral, be marred, be pervert, be putrid, be rotten, be spoiled, be vicious, become corrupted, become decayed, become decomposed, become depraved, become evil, become immoral, become marred, become pervert, become perverted, become putrid, become rotten, become spoiled, become vicious, contaminate, corrupt, decompose, degenerate, deprave, deteriorate, disintegrate, foul, go bad, impair, infect, mangle, mar, mess, mess up, misrule, putrefy, rot, spoil, spoilt), خمج (septic). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | скапвам се, разрушение (desolation, destruction, disruption, pulverization, ravage, wreck), разлагам се (dissociate, moulder, rot), разпадане (breakup, collapse, disintegration, disruption, dissociation, dissolution), гния (corrupt, decompose, fester, languish, putrefy, rot), гниене (corruption, putrefaction, rot), влошаване (aggravation, decline, depravation, deterioration, exasperation, reversal, vitiation), влошавам се (decline, retrograde), отпадане (decline, droping out, failure, fall out, falling away, obsolescence), загниване (cariosity, rot), западам (come down, dwindle, fail, falter, go back, molder, moulder, sag, sink, turn down), повяхвам (dim, droop, fade, wither), плуя (roll, rot, run, soak). (various references) | |
Chinese | 隕落 (fall down), 腓 (calf of leg, protect), 腐 (rotten), 衰敗 , 衰 (decline, feeble, mourning garments, weak), 朽烂. (various references) | |
Czech | zahnívat, trouchnivìt (moulder, rot), trouchnivìní (rot), tlení (rot), tlít (moulder, rot), rozpadat se (crumble, run to seed), rozklad (corruption, decomposition, disintegration, resolution), rozkládat se (putrefy), kazit se (go bad, putrefy, taint), hnití (putrefaction), hnít (putrefy, rot), úpadek (bankruptcy, come down, comedown, decadence, decline, degradation, deterioration, labefaction, lapse, recession, retrogression, retroversion). (various references) | |
Danish | forfald (adversity). (various references) | |
Dutch | verval (adversity). (various references) | |
Esperanto | ruiniĝo, putriĝo, malprospero, malboniĝo (corruption, depravation, taint), kadukiĝo. (various references) | |
Farsi | فساد (Corruption, Decadence, Degeneration, Depravity, Immorality, Pus, Putrefaction, Spoil, Turpitude, Vice), فاسدشدن (Canker, Degenerate, Gangrene, Putrefy, Spoil, Vitiate), پوسیدن (Corrode, Putrefy, Rot), پوسیدگی (Putrefaction), منحطشدن , تنزل کردن (Decline, Fall), تنزل (Abate, Decadence, Depreciation, Depression, Setback), تباهی (Degeneration, Depravity, Destruction, Ruin, Ruination, Spoil), زوال (Chute, Consumption, Decadence, Decline, Downfall, Fall, Lapse), خرابی (Demolition, Destruction, Godsend, Havoc, Ruin, Ruination, Wrack, Wreck, Wreckage). (various references) | |
Finnish | rappio (decline, ruin), mätäneminen (putrefaction, rotting). (various references) | |
French | pourriture. (various references) | |
German | Dämpfung (abatement, absorption, attenuation, damping, dilution), zersetzung (corrosion, decline, decomposition, disintegration, disruptiveness, subversion, undermining), verwesung (decomposition, putrefaction), verfallen (addicted, be forfeited, become addicted, become dilapidated, become enslaved, become invalid, decline, deteriorate, die, dilapidated, emaciated, expire, expired, fall, fall into disrepair, fall off, invalid, lapse, lapsed, ruined, ruinous, senile, to decay, to expire, tumble down, waste), verfall (abasement, decadence, decadences, decline, dilapidation, disrepair, expiration, expiry, exspiration, fall, lapse, lapsing, plight). (various references) | |
Greek | σήψη (putrefaction, putridity, sepsis), σάπισμα (rotting), σαπίζω (damp off, decompose, molder, mortify, moulder, putrefy, rot), παρακμή (decadence, decadency, decline, wane), παρακμάζω (decline, ebb, to have seen better days), φθορά (abrasion, attrition, corruption, spoilage, spoiling, wastage, waste, wear, wear and tear), αποσύνθεση (decomposition, disintegration, putrescence). (various references) | |
Hebrew | מקמוק (decomposition, putridity, rot), מק (gangrene, putridity, rot), למולל (fade, wither), לשקוע (be immersed, bog, decline, degenerate, sag, settle, sink, socket, subside), לעפש (mould, stink out), להרקיב (rot), להרקב (molder, moulder, putrefy, rot), לדעוך (die down, fade, trail off, wane), לבלות (become old, wither), לרקוב (putrefy, rot), הפתח (decomposition), בלי (except for, excluding, wearing out, without), רקבון (corrosion, corruption, moldiness, putrefaction, putrescence, rankness, rot, rottenness), רקב (gangrene, putrefaction, putridity, rot, rotten), נמק (putrefaction, putrefactive, rot). (various references) | |
Hungarian | szuvasodás (cavity, rot), rothadás (corruption, dry-rot, putrefaction, putrescence, rot), hanyatlás (decadence, decadency, declension, decline, depression, deterioration, downgrade, downtrend, droop, drop, ebb, fall-off, retrogression, set back, set-back), bomlás (decomposition, disorganization, dissolution, putrefaction). (various references) | |
Indonesian | runtuhan, runtuh (collapse), pemburukan (deterioration), kerusakan (defect, detriment, ravage), kebusukan (badness, decomposition, depravation, putridness, rot, rottenness). (various references) | |
Irish | feoigh. (various references) | |
Italian | degrado (deterioration), decadimento (case, decline, falling), carie (caries, tooth decay). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 腐敗 (depravity), 衰退 (decline). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | たいせい (accomplishment, attainment of greatness or success, attitude, blackish blue, completion, conditions, current thought, decline, general trend, gestation, great sage, ones declining fortunes, one's declining fortunes, opposing pairs, order, organization, posture, preparations, resistance, set-up, sovereign power, stance, structure, system, the Occident, the reins of government, the West), すいたい (decadence, decline, declining, drunkenness, ebb tide, intoxication, presided over by, waning, weaken, weakening), すいせい (aquatic, aquatic life, aqueous, comet, decline, downward tendency, living in the water, Mercury, strength of a river current, this decadent world, water-based), ディケイ , くさり (chain, corruption, rottenness), きゅうはい (bowing many times, dilapidation), ふはい (depravity, invincibility), ほうかい (breaking down, caving in, cherishing, collapse, crumbling, entertaining, harboring), いび (decline), げんすい (admiral, attenuation, damping, general of the army, marshal, subsiding of water), はいたい (being defeated, being eliminated, decadence, germination, pregnancy), はいめつ (be scattered or crushed in defeat, ruination), ちょうらく (decline, fall, withering), ちょうじん (aviator, birdman, decline, flying ace, superman, withering). (various references) | |
Korean | 감퇴. (various references) | |
Manx | naardey (annihilate, destroy, fade, waste), loauys (caries, gangrene, putresence, putridity, rot, rottenness), loaughey (canker, decompose, decomposition, rot), goll naardey, goll mow (die out), fioghys (decadence), fioghey (blight, blight as flowers, blightedness, die down, fade, go off, wither), cur mow (annihilate, blot out, destroy, ruin). (various references) | |
Norwegian | forråtnelse, forfall (decadence, decline, lapse). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | ecayday.(various references) | |
Portuguese | declínio (declension, decline, descent, down-grade, ebb, ebb tide, falling-off, offscourings, owl-light, twilight, wane, waste). (various references) | |
Romanian | dãrãpãnare (deterioration, dilapidation, ruin), decãdea (decline, deteriorate, dilapidate, fall, fall into decay, go down, go to seed, lapse, putrefy, rot, ruin, run to seed), decãdere (decadence, decadency, declension, decline, descent, ebb, fall, shame), decadenţã (decadence, decadency, decline, retrogradation), declin (anticlimax, consenescence, declension, declination, decline, descent, downhill, ebb, fall, falling off, let down, regress, sunset, wane), descompunere (decomposition, degradation, dissolution, putrefaction, resolution, rottenness, rotting), destrãma (disintegrate, dissolve, open, Ravel, tease, unravel, unweave), distruge (abolish, annihilate, blast, blight, confound, crash, crock, cut, cut to pieces, cut up, dash, defeat, demolish, destroy, devastate, dilapidate, disrupt, eat into, eat through, eliminate, exterminate, extirpate, finish, kill, lay waste, make havoc of, Mar, obliterate, overturn, overwhelm, perish, play the deuce with, play the devil with, quash, ravage, raze, reduce, ruin, scathe, scatter, scotch, shatter, shipwreck, sink, spoil, squelch, strafe, subvert, tear, undo, unmake, wreck), prãbuşire (break, break down, break up, burst up, collapse, crack up, crash, debacle, downfall, drop, fall, labefaction), face sã decadã, îmbãtrâni (age, get old, grow old, wax old), marasm (depression), slãbire (abatement, atrophy, attenuation, dilution, emasculation, enervation, fading, failing, failure, labefaction, looseness, maceration, slendering, stringency, weakening), putrezi (damp off, decompose, fester, putrefy, ret, rot), putrezire (putrefaction, rot), ruinã (bankruptcy, break up, burst up, perdition, ruin, ruination, shipwreck, wreck), ruinare (crash, dilapidation, downfall), scãdea (abate, abstract, decline, decrease, deduct, deflate, depress, derogate from, diminish, drop, dwindle, ebb, fade, fall, go down, lower, recede, reduce, relax, sag, shrink, sink, subside, subtract, take off, wane), se altera, se caria (rot), se descompune (decompose, disintegrate, fall, fester, putrefy), se ruina (break, crash, dilapidate, fall, flatten, go under, ruin), se strica (addle, break up, corrupt, deteriorate, fester, go bad, go phut, ret, retrogress, spoil, turn), face sã putrezeascã (decompose). (various references) | |
Russian | упадок (come down, decadence, decadency, decline, degeneration, degradation, depression, dilapidation, downgrade, down-grade, downswing, ebb, eclipse, non-event, regress, retrogression, wane), расстройство здоровья, распад (breakup, break-up, decomposition, disinteration, dissipation, dissociation, dissolution), разрушение (abolishment, breakdown, breakup, collapse, cracking, demolition, desolation, destruction, wrecking), разрушаться разрушение, разрушаться (break, crumble, molder, moulder, wrack), разложение (corruption, decomposition, degradation, dissipation, dissociation, dissolution, putrefaction), разлагаться (corrupt, decompose, putrefy), гнить (decompose, putrefied, putrefy, putrefying, rot), гниение (decomposition, putrefactation, putrescence, rot), загнить (rot), приходить в упадок (decline), истлевать (rot). (various references) | |
Scottish | feodhaich. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | truljenje (caries, decomposition, moldering, mouldering, putrefaction, rotting), truliti, truleti (molder, moulder), trulež (dry rot, rot), raspad (breakdown, decomposition), nazadak (decline, regression). (various references) | |
Spanish | decadencia (decadence, decadency, decline, dilapidation, disrepair, down grade, downfall, expiration, rot), decaimiento (decline, ebb, lapse), putrefacción (corruption, depravation, putrefaction, putrescence, rot, rottenness, taint), pudrición (putrescence), deterioración (corruption, depravation, deterioration, taint), baja (abatement, break, decline, decrease, drop, fall, sagging, sink, slump). (various references) | |
Swedish | ruttna (a body, addle, corrupt, decompose, fester, putrefy, rot), röta (dry rot, grub, luck, ret, rot), murkna, förmultna (molder, moulder), förgängelse (corruption), förfalla (decline, degenerate, degrade, dilapidate, drop through, expire, go to ruin, go to the dogs, lapse, mature), förfall (breakup, decadence, decadency, declension, degeneration, degradation, deterioration, dilapidation, disrepair, ebb, excuse, hindrance). (various references) | |
Turkish | dağılmak (adjourn, be scattered, clear, clear away, come apart, crack up, decompose, diffuse, disband, disintegrate, disperse, disrupt, dissolve, fall, fly to pieces, go into splinters, go splinters, go to pieces, scatter, separate, splinter, spread, straggle), düşkünlük (addiction, affection, devotion, dotage, fanaticism, fixation, fondness, keenness, mania, partiality, poverty), bozulmak (addle, break down, break up, bust, collapse, conk, decline, deteriorate, disrupt, dwindle, ebb, fail, get out of hand, get out of order, go bad, go haywire, go off, go sour, go under, go wrong, lose face, perish, retrograde, retrogress, rot, sour, spoil, stale, taint, turn, turn sour, upset), çürük (bad, bruise, carious, cavity, contusion, decayed, dicky, draft-exempt, dry rot, feeble, flimsy, putrefacient, putrefactive, putrid, rickety, rocky, rotten, sleazy, tooth decay, unsound, wonky), çürüme (corruption, decomposition, dry rot, putrefaction, rot, rottenness), çürümek (become unsound, canker, decline, decompose, fester, go bad, go off, languish, molder, moulder, perish, putrefy, ret, rot, sphacelate, spoil), çürütme (confutation, rebuttal, refutation), çürütmek (canker, cause to rot, confute, controvert, contuse, corrode, corrupt, decompose, disproof, disprove, explode, molder, moulder, pick to pieces, putrefy, rebut, refute, rot, stultify), ayrışma (decomposition, dissociation, resolution, separation), azalmak (abate, be on the wane, be reduced, decline, decrease, de-escalate, diminish, dive, drop off, dwindle, ease off, fall away, fall off, lessen, run short of, run short of smth., sag, scale down, shorten, shrink, sink, tail, wane, wear away), çöküş (breakup, collapse, decadence, decline, descent, downfall, fall, ruins, smash up, sunset, twilight), bozulma (breach, breakdown, breakup, confusion, corrosion, corruption, declension, decomposition, deformation, degeneration, degradation, derogation, deterioration, devolution, disfiguration, disfigurement, disruption, dissolution, impairment, infection, pollution, putrefaction, rancidity, rancidness, rottenness, shipwreck, spoilage, taint, undoing, upset), zayıflamak (be on the wane, decline, fade, grow lean, grow thin, loose flesh, peak, reduce, slim, thin, thin down, thin of, thin out, weaken), halsiz düşmek, parçalanmak (break, break to pieces, break up, come apart, crash, crumble, crush, digest, disintegrate, disrupt, fall to pieces, fly to pieces, go into splinters, go splinters, go to pieces, rend, rupture, shatter, shiver, shred, smash, Spall, splinter, split, split off), yıkılış (decadence, ruin), yıkılma (collapse, crack up, downfall, fall, shipwreck, subversion, wreck), zayıflama (attenuation, emaciation, fading, reducing, slimming, tabes, wane, weakening), bozmak (abash, abolish, adulterate, affect, alloy, annihilate, annul, baffle, ball up, barbarize, bedevil, blemish, botch, break, break down, break off, break on, bugger, bugger up, bust, cash, change, circumvent, confound, confuse, contaminate, corrupt, cross, damage, debase, debauch, declare off, deface, defile, destroy, deteriorate, disappoint, disarray, discolor, discolour, discomfit, discomfort, discompose, discountenance, dislocate, dismount, disorder, disrupt, dissolve, distort, disturb, downgrade, emasculate, embarrass, embroil, exchange, explode, fluff, foil, foul, foul up, fumble, garble, goof, goof up, gum up, Harry, impair, indispose, infect, infringe, lead astray, leaven, mangle, Mar, mess, murder, muss, mutilate, obliterate, pervert, pollute, put out, put out of action, put to shame, quash, queer, rattle, reverse, rot, ruffle, ruin, scotch, scupper, shatter, sour, spoil, stymie, taint, thwart, tousle, tumble, undo, unmake, upset, violate, vitiate, whittle away, whittle down, whittle off, wreck). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | руйнуватися (collapse), розкладатися (canker, corrupt, disintegrate, molder, moulder, putrefy, resolve, rot), розкладання (decomposition, dissolution, resolve), радіоактивний розпад, чахнути (languish, pine, waste, wither), гниття (decomposition, putrefaction, putrescence, rot), гнити (decompose, fester, putrefy, rot), ослаблення (abatement, attenuation, dйtente, debilitation, decrease, depression, derogation, dilution, extenuation, impoverishment, labefaction, let down, letup, prostration), опускати (cast down, demit, down, let down, lower, omit, pull down, put down, sink), згасати (ebb, leak away), занепадати (decline, degrade, eclipse, fall off), занепад (anticlimax, blight, chute, decadence, decadency, declension, declination, decline, degeneracy, degeneration, depression, down grade, nadir, sunset, waste, wasting), псуватися (addle, change, corrupt, go bad, spoil). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | xương, tình trạng suy tàn, tình trạng suy sụp, sự phân rã suy tàn. (various references) | |
Welsh | dadfeilio (fall to ruin), edwi (fade, wither), adfeilio (become a ruin, fall, moulder), adfeiliad (ruin). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Greek | 700 BCE-300 CE | marasmos. (various references) |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | cadam, cadamus, cadant, cadas, cadat, cadatis, cadebant, cadebat, cadens, cadensque, cadent, cadentes, cadentesque, cadentibusque, cadere, caderem, caderent, caderet, cades, cadet, cadetis, cadit, cadite, cadunt, caries, ceciderant, ceciderat, ceciderint, ceciderit, cecideritque, ceciderunt, cecideruntque, cecidi, cecidimus, cecidisse, cecidissent, cecidisset, cecidisti, cecidit, ceciditque, conputrescebant, conputrescent, conputrescet, conputruerant, conputruerat, conputruerunt, conputruit, consenescamus, consenui, dilaberetur, dilapsusque, inclina, inclinabit, inclinabitur, inclinabo, inclinabuntur, inclinans, inclinaretur, inclinasset, inclinasti, inclinastis, inclinat, inclinata, inclinate, inclinati, inclinato, inclinatur, inclinaturque, inclinatus, inclinaverat, inclinaveris, inclinaverit, inclinaverunt, inclinavi, inclinavit, inclinentur, inclinet, inclino, intereo, morere, moreremur, morerentur, moreretur, moreris, mori, moria, moriamini, moriamur, moriantur, moriar, moriaris, moriatur, moriebatur, moriemini, moriemur, moriendi, moriendum, moriens, morientem, morientes, morientis, morientium, morientur, morieris, morietur, morimur, morior, moritur, moritura, morituros, moriturum, moriturus, moriuntur, mortua, mortuae, mortuam, mortuaque, mortui, mortuique, mortuis, mortuisque, mortuo, mortuorum, mortuos, mortuum, mortuus, mortuusque, putrefactae, putrefactus, supercecidit, tabe, tabee, tabita, tabitas. (various references) |
| Old English | 450-1100 | afeallan, brosnian. (various references) |
| Medieval Latin | 700-1500 | decadentia. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Leviticus Chapter 25, Verse 35 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Ean de penhtai o adelfoV sou kai adunathsh taiV cersin para soi antilhmyh autou wV proshlutou kai paroikou kai zhsetai o adelfoV sou meta sou |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Si adtenuatus fuerit frater tuus et infirmus manu et susceperis eum quasi advenam et peregrinum et vixerit tecum |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | If thi brother were maad pore, and feble in hoond, and thow resseyuest hym as a comlyng and a pilgrym, |
| Renaissance English | 1526 | Tyndale | Yf thi brother be waxed poore and falle in decaye with the receaue him as a straunger or a soiourner and let him lyue by the. |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee. |
| Vi |
