decayn.

/dɪˈkeɪ/

Forms: For forms see decay v.

Etymology: < decay v. Compare medieval Latin decheium in Du Cange.

a. The process of falling off from a prosperous or thriving condition; progressive decline; the condition of one who has thus fallen off or declined.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > badness or evil > worse > [noun] > state or condition

ebbc1400

decayc1460

witheredness1535

decadencec1550

autumn1590

fall1590

dotage1606

twilight1609

pejority1615

decadency1632

atrophy1653

effeteness1862

wallow1934

c1460 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (1885) xvi The estate off þe Romans..hath ffallen alwey sythyn, into suche decay, þat nowe [etc.].

1558 Bp. T. Watson Holsome Doctr. Seuen Sacramentes i. f. iii He repayreth all our decaies in grace.

1587 J. Higgins Mirour for Magistrates (new ed.) Albanacte lxvi Discord brings all kingdomes to decay.

1611 Bible (King James) Lev. xxv. 35 If thy brother bee waxen poore, and fallen in decay with thee.

1718 Mem. Life J. Kettlewell iii. §103. 439 Perceiving..a very Sensible Decay of his Spirits.

1856 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. i. 9 At present, the decay of a town implies the decay of the trade of the town.

1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People v. §3. 228 The decay of the University of Paris..had transferred her intellectual supremacy to Oxford.

†b. Formerly sometimes = Downfall, destruction, ruin; poetic fall, death. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > [noun] > state of being destroyed or ruined

lossc897

losingc950

lore971

destructionc1330

forlesing1340

lostc1374

undoing1377

perditiona1382

shendc1400

decay1535

rack1599

undoneness1835

wanthrift1929

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms cv[i]. 36 They worshipped their ymages, which turned to their owne decaye.

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. vi. sig. F6 In hope to bring her to her last decay.

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. ix. sig. V4^v Fly fast, and saue yourselues from neare decay.

1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. E1 To kill thine Honour with thy liues decaie .

a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iv. iii. 155.

a1724 Battle of Harlaw xxv, in Ramsay Evergreen Grit Dolour was for his Decay, That sae unhappylie was slain.

†a. Falling off (in quantity, volume, intensity, etc.); dwindling, decrease. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > declining or falling off

declinea1327

fadea1400

paira1400

declining1481

vading1570

fall1590

hield1599

languishment1617

decay1636

defalcation1649

decidence1655

fall-off1676

falling off1761

fallaway1879

downswing1922

1636 H. Blount Voy. Levant 46 The opinion of our decay in stature from our forefathers.

1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ iii. iv. §6 The decay of many of them [springs] in hot and dry weather.

1669 A. Browne Ars Pictoria (1675) 39 The shadows..being caused by the decay of the light.

1691 T. Hale Acct. New Inventions p. lxxxiv Complaints were brought to the Council-Board, of the great Decay of that River.

1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 62 The decay of sound has been supposed by some to be nearly in the direct ratio of the distances.

b. Physics. The gradual decrease in the radioactivity of a substance; hence, the spontaneous transformation of a single atomic nucleus or elementary particle into one or more different nuclei or particles. Also attributive.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactivity > [noun] > decrease in radioactivity

decay1897

1897 Rutherford in London, Edinb. & Dublin Philos. Mag. 5th Ser. 44 425 The intensity of the radiation varied widely, but in all cases the rate of decay was found to be in close agreement with theory.

1902 Rutherford & Allen in London, Edinb. & Dublin Philos. Mag. 6th Ser. 4 708 The decay-curve for a copper wire exposed 210 minutes inside the laboratory.

1905 Nature 13 Apr. 574/1 Different samples gave for the half-period of decay from 52 to 55 seconds.

1931 G. Gamow Constit. Atomic Nuclei ii. 31 One of the most important characteristics of a decaying nucleus is its decay constant.., giving the probability of disintegration per unit time.

1938 R. W. Lawson tr. G. von Hevesy & F. A. Paneth Man. Radioactivity (ed. 2) xxiii. 223 Uranium Z..may be a decay product of a uranium isotope other than ²³⁸U.

1958 J. L. Perkin in O. R. Frisch Nucl. Handbk. iii. 7 The decay of a nucleus via various excited levels of the final nucleus is shown diagrammatically.

1962 H. D. Bush Atomic & Nucl. Physics iv. 81 The half-life of uranium I..is obviously too long to determine by measuring the decay of its activity.

1968 M. S. Livingston Particle Physics xi. 196 The most fundamental weak interaction is the decay of the neutron into a proton, an electron, and an antineutrino.

1969 Times 12 Mar. 4/7 The radioactive decay of uranium..has long been recognized as a means of fixing the ages of remote cosmological events.

c. A progressive diminution in the amplitude of an oscillation or vibration.

ΚΠ

1906 J. A. Fleming Princ. Electr. Wave Telegr. i. 15 Frictional resistance causes decay in the amplitude of the oscillations by dissipating their energy as heat.

1922 R. Glazebrook Dict. Appl. Physics II. 111/1 The damping of the oscillations is determined by b..which is called the damping coefficient or the coefficient of decay.

1950 R. W. B. Stephens & A. E. Bate Wave Motion & Sound 357 This decay of amplitude is known as damping and the motion is referred to as damped harmonic motion.

1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio iii. 56 Some percussive instruments, such as tympani, continue to sound for some time, and have decay characteristics which are somewhat similar to that of reverberation.

a. Of material things: Wasting or wearing away, disintegration; dilapidation, ruinous condition.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > [noun] > decay or decaying

decas1393

decay1523

corrupting1565

fretting1582

marcor1646

contabescence1650

rot1663

decayedness1702

1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Surueyeng i. f. 1 Those castelles..that be fallen in dekay and nat inhabyted.

1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets xiii. sig. B3^v Who lets so faire a house fall to decay ?

1757 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. II. 135 That edifice, by length of time, fell to decay, and lay in ruins.

1839 T. Keightley Hist. Eng. II. 41 The decay of these sacred edifices.

†b. plural. Dilapidations; concrete ruined remains, ruins, debris, detritus. (Rarely in singular.) Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > that which is left or remainder > [noun] > remains > after destructive agency > decayed remnant(s)

relicsc1350

ruinc1425

ruins1544

decays1582

debris1708

wreck1713

shard1786

faulturea1821

detritus1834

1582 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxf. (1880) 427 The Bayliffs..shall..make relation unto this howsse what the decayes are.

1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 176 Beyond are the decayes of a Church.

1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. v. 200 The decayes whereof being much semblable to..the stony heapes of Jericho.

1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. iii. 82 Jehoiada was careful to amend the decayes of the Temple.

1777 G. Forster Voy. round World I. 313 A vegetable mould, mixed with volcanic decays.

figurative.1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xxiv. 292 What comfort to this decay may come, shall be applied. 1663 R. South Serm. preached Nov. 9, 1662 15 And certainly that must needs have been very glorious, whose decayes are so admirable.

c. figurative. The gradual ‘wearing down’ of words or phonetic elements in language.

ΚΠ

1874 A. H. Sayce Princ. Compar. Philol. i. 18 Contraction and decay may be carried so far as to become an idiosyncracy of a particular language.

1877 T. L. Papillon Man. Compar. Philol. iv. 56 The principle of ‘Phonetic Decay’, which plays so large a part in the history of language.

a. Decline of the vital energy or faculties (through disease or old age); breaking up of the health and constitution; formerly also (with plural), effect, mark, or sign of physical decay.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > [noun] > weakening or decline in health

failinga1382

sickeninga1382

wasting1398

downhielda1400

dissolutionc1400

debilitationa1492

defailing1502

effeeblishing1540

faintingc1540

effeeblishment1545

enervationa1575

feeblishing1574

declining1588

decay1609

flagging1611

labefaction1620

feebling1624

sinking1625

deading1645

dejection1652

fail1654

emperiment1674

decline1770

sapping1825

breakdown1858

attenuation1868

1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets xi. sig. B3 Age, and could decay .

1611 B. Jonson Catiline ii. sig. D2^v Shee has beene a fine Ladie..and paints, and hides Her decayes very well.

1720 R. Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 498 Notwithstanding my great age and decays, I am able to preach..in the largest meeting-house in Boston.

1752 S. Johnson Rambler No. 203. ⁋12 In the pains of disease, and the languor of decay.

1860 W. F. Hook Lives Archbishops Canterbury (1869) I. vii. 421 The archbishop..had begun to show symptoms of decay.

†b. spec. Consumption, phthisis; ‘a decline’.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > diseases of tissue > wasting disease > [noun] > consumption

phthisic1301

consumptiona1398

phthisis1525

studious consumption1666

consumptiveness1677

colliquitation1720

decay1725

wearing1824

consumptivity1889

1725 N. Robinson New Theory of Physick 150 A perfect Hectic, which inseparably accompanies Wastes, Decays, and Consumptions.

1746 G. Berkeley Let. Tar-water §23 Dropsies, decays, and other maladies.

1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian vi, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. II. 165 Her son that she had left at hame weak of a decay.

5. The destructive decomposition or wasting of organic tissue; rotting.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > corruption or putridness > [noun] > process of

rottingOE

corruption1377

rotc1384

putrefactiona1400

putrification1548

putriture1569

tainting1593

decay1594

putrescence1646

decomposition1777

sepsis1813

1594 H. Plat Diuers Chimicall Concl. Distillation 42 in Jewell House One day, or two, before you feare the decay of your decoction, set the same on the fire.

1748 Acct. Voy. for Discov. North-west Passage I. 138 Such Wood as is upon the Decay, but not yet become rotten.

1771 J. Hunter Nat. Hist. Human Teeth 122 Fill the hole with lead, which prevents the pain and retards the decay.

1775 J. Harris Philos. Arrangem. The body ceases to live, and the members soon pass into putrefaction and decay.

1860 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters V. 159 The decay of leaves.

1878 L. P. Meredith Teeth (ed. 2) 115 The teeth will come together, and further decay will almost infallibly result.

†6. A cause of decay; the ‘destruction’ or ‘ruin of’ anything. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > [noun] > a harmful thing or person > thing

thornc1230

plaguea1382

foea1393

evila1400

flaw1481

detriment?1504

tooth1546

fang1555

decay1563

bane1577

dagger1600

scourge1603

cursea1616

blighter1821

bacillus1883

1563 2nd Tome Homelyes Homily x. Pt. i Som worldly witted men think it a great decaye to the quiete and prudent gouernynge of their commonwealthes to geue eare to the simple and playne rules..of our Sauiour.

1584 H. Llwyd & D. Powel Hist. Cambria 21 This partition is the very decaie of great families.

1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets lxxx. sig. F^v My loue was my decay .

1668 J. Child Brief Observ. Trade 23 Trade; to which the high rate of Usury is a great prejudice and decay.

1674 A. Wood Life & Times (1892) II. 300 The decay of study, and consequently of learning, are coffy houses.

†7. Failure of payment or rent; arrears. Obsolete. [medieval Latin decasus redditus, decatum.]

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > management of money > insolvency > indebtedness > [noun] > a debt > arrears

arrearagesc1315

reragea1325

rest1447

remain1501

decay1546

by-run1573

remainder1597

arrears1648

bygonesa1676

arrearance1731

1546 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 199 The possessiones of the Guyld, wyth the decayes, ben yerly valued at [etc.].

1546 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 199 Decayes and defautes of Rentes.

1546 in J. T. Fowler Memorials Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1888) III. 31 One Annuall Rent..in decay and not payde.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online September 2021).

decayv.

/dɪˈkeɪ/

Forms: Middle English– decay; also Middle English–1500s dekay(e, dekey, 1500s–1600s decaye, decaie.

Etymology: < Old French decair, dekair (subjunctive present decaie), variant of decaoir, dechaoir, decheoir, now déchoir = Spanish decaer, Portuguese decahir, Italian decadēre, a Common Romance compound of de- down + cadēre = Latin cadĕre to fall. The French forms in -eir, -oir correspond to the -ēre type, those in -ir in Old French and Portuguese have passed over to the -īre conjugation.

I. intransitive.

a. To fall off (in quality or condition); to deteriorate or become impaired; to lose its characteristic quality, strength, or excellence; to be in a failing condition.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > badness or evil > worse > [verb (intransitive)]

worseeOE

aswindc885

worsena1250

appair1340

impair1340

fainta1375

pairc1390

vade1471

decay1511

decline1530

degenerate1545

lapse1641

addle1654

sunset1656

deteriorate1758

worst1781

descend1829

disimprove1846

slush1882

devolute1893

worser1894

the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > deteriorate in condition [verb (intransitive)] > be decayed > decay

to-dreseOE

forbraidc1220

perisha1382

fret1486

to fall awayc1510

decay1511

pallc1560

1511–12 Act 3 Hen. VIII c. 3 Preamble Archerie..is right litell used, but dayly mynessheth, decayth and abateth.

a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. lxxxxv. f. xxxvii The seruyce of god..by mean of y^e Saxons was greatly decayde thorough all Brytayne.

1583 P. Stubbes Second Pt. Anat. Abuses sig. K6 Whereby learning greatlie decaieth.

1609 S. Rowlands Whole Crew Kind Gossips sig. C^v His loue to me now daily doth decay.

1677 A. Yarranton England's Improvem. 49 Common Honesty is necessary for Trade, and without it Trade will decay.

1728 A. Pope Dunciad i. 221 How Prologues into Prefaces decay.

1812 J. Wilson Isle of Palms iii. 273 Entranced there the Lovers gaze Till every human fear decays.

b. To decline from prosperity or fortune.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > adversity > be in adversity [verb (intransitive)] > fall from prosperous or thriving condition

afalleOE

wanec1000

fallOE

ebba1420

to go backward?a1425

to go down?1440

decay1483

sink?a1513

delapsea1530

reel1529

decline1530

to go backwards1562

rue1576

droop1577

ruina1600

set1607

lapse1641

to lose ground1647

to go to pigs and whistles1794

to come (also go) down in the world1819

to peg out1852

to lose hold, one's balance1877

to go under1879

toboggan1887

slip1930

to turn down1936

the mind > possession > poverty > be poor [verb (intransitive)] > become poor

poor?a1300

to come downa1382

decay1483

to bring haddock to paddock1546

to come to want1590

ruina1600

to come (also go) down in the world1819

1483 Act 1 Rich. III c. 12 §1 The Artificers of this seid Realme..ben greatly empoveresshed and dailly dekeyn.

1483 W. Caxton tr. Caton H ij It is seen selde the juste to dekaye ne to haue nede.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Prov. xi. B When the iust are in wealth, the cite prospereth: but whan the vngodly haue the rule, it decayeth.

1663 S. Pepys Diary 15 May (1971) IV. 139 The Dutch decay there [i.e. in the East Indies] exceedingly.

1816 W. Scott Old Mortality i, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. II. 28 Ancient..families..decayed into the humble vale of life.

†a. To fall off or decrease (in number, volume, amount, intensity, etc.); to dwindle away. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > extension in space > reduction in size or extent > become reduced in size or extent [verb (intransitive)]

narrowOE

waneOE

smallOE

slakec1380

welk1390

fade1398

lessenc1400

minish?a1425

decay1489

adminisha1500

diminish1520

to grow downwards?1523

ungrow1598

scant1607

settlea1642

to run off1765

dwarf1776

comminute1850

downsize1977

the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > decrease in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (intransitive)]

littleOE

setc1000

wanzec1175

lessc1225

allayc1275

wane1297

slaken1303

disincreasec1374

slakec1380

decrease1382

debatea1400

unwaxa1400

wastea1400

adminishc1400

lessenc1400

imminish14..

aslakec1405

minish?a1425

assuagec1430

shrinkc1449

to let down1486

decay1489

diminish1520

fall1523

rebate1540

batea1542

to come down1548

abate1560

stoop1572

pine1580

slack1580

scanten1585

shrivel1588

decrew1596

remit1629

contract1648

subside1680

lower1697

relax1701

drop1730

to take off1776

to run down1792

reduce1798

recede1810

to run off1816

to go down1823

attenuatea1834

ease1876

downscale1945

1489 Act 4 Hen. VII c. 16 The which Isle is lately decayed of people.

1568 Bible (Bishops') Job xiv. 11 The fludde decayeth and dryeth vp.

1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 168 It became a hard question, whether my spirits or Gold decayed faster.

1691 T. Hale Acct. New Inventions p. xc The Shipping and Number of our Seamen were decay'd about a third part.

1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 67 The Water drank is usually Rain-water preserved in Tanks, which decaying, they are forced to dig Wells.

1725 W. Broome in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey III. xii. 237 'Till dying off, the distant sounds decay.

?1790 J. Imison School of Arts (ed. 2) 126 The candle will burn a minute; and then, having gradually decayed from the first instant, will go out.

b. Of an oscillation or vibration: gradually to decrease in amplitude, so that each swing is smaller than the one before. Also said of the amplitude of the oscillation.

ΚΠ

1879 Encycl. Brit. VIII. 11/2 Sir W. Thomson investigated mathematically the discharge of a Leyden jar..and predicted that under certain circumstances the discharge would consist of a series of decaying oscillations.

1906 J. A. Fleming Princ. Electr. Wave Telegr. 573 A very important matter in connection with practical electric wave telegraphy is the rate at which the wave amplitude decays during the emission of a wave train from the antenna.

1927 I. B. Crandall Theory Vibrating Syst. i. 8 The natural oscillations may be made to decay very rapidly, or to disappear altogether, if the damping factor is made very large.

1944 A. Wood Physics of Music ii. 23 Sound-waves are carrying energy more rapidly away from the fork, and the vibrations therefore decay more rapidly.

1959 Chambers's Encycl. I. 375/1 The amplitude of the swing about the final true position decays exponentially with time.

c. Physics. Of radioactivity: gradually to diminish in intensity; of a substance: to suffer a gradual decrease in its radioactive power, to undergo nuclear disintegration. Hence, of a radioactive substance, an atomic nucleus, or an elementary particle: to change or disintegrate into one or more different substances, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactive isotope > radioactive nuclide > lose radioactivity [verb (intransitive)]

decay1900

1900 Rutherford in London, Edinb. & Dublin Philos. Mag. 49 177 The intensity of the ‘excited’ radiation falls to half its value in about eleven hours, or one decays 660 times faster than the other.

1913 E. Rutherford Radioactive Substances viii. 339 The active deposit..decays in situ and this results in an apparent decrease of the activity.

1942 J. D. Stranathan ‘Particles’ of Mod. Physics viii. 326 The half life period T of a radioactive substance is defined as the time required for one half of the active material present at any time to decay.

1958 W. K. Mansfield Elem. Nucl. Physics iii. 21 It is found experimentally that the probability of an unstable nucleus, known as a radioactive nucleus, decaying within a given time is constant.

1962 H. D. Bush Atomic & Nucl. Physics iv. 80 Uranium X does not decay into a stable product but is the parent of a chain of radioactive daughter products.

1968 M. S. Livingston Particle Physics iv. 72 In matter, when π⁺ pions are slowed down by ionizing impacts, they decay into positive muons and muon neutrinos.

a. To fall into physical ruin; to waste away, wear out, become ruined.

ΚΠ

a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. lvi. f. xix Aruiragus..with great dilygence Repayred Cyties and Townes before decayed.

1576 W. Lambarde Perambulation of Kent 249 This house, by that time..was decayed, either by age, or flame, or bothe.

1645 J. Milton On University Carrier ii, in Poems 29 Made of sphear-metal, never to decay Untill his revolution was at stay.

1694 Coll. Several Late Voy. (1711) I. 45 There was Water over the Salt, which began to decay with the Rain and Weather being on it.

1748 Acct. Voy. for Discov. North-west Passage I. 51 The Ise being inseparable, as it was very little decayed.

b. To suffer decomposition; to rot.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > corruption or putridness > become corrupt or putrid [verb (intransitive)]

forrota900

foulOE

rotOE

rank?a1300

corrumpc1374

to-rota1382

putrefya1400

mourkenc1400

corruptc1405

festerc1475

decay1574

rankle1612

tainta1616

decompose1793

wrox1847

the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > deteriorate in condition [verb (intransitive)] > rot or putrefy

forrota900

foulOE

rotOE

rank?a1300

corrumpc1374

to-rota1382

putrefya1400

mourkenc1400

corruptc1405

festerc1475

rottena1500

decay1574

rankle1612

tainta1616

moth1624

ret1846

wrox1847

1574 J. Baret Aluearie D 148 Y^t soone is ripe, doth soone decaie.

1737 A. Pope Epist. of Horace ii. ii. 19 As Winter-fruits grow mild e'er they decay.

1771 J. Hunter Nat. Hist. Human Teeth 122 When an opening is made into the cavity of the Tooth, the inside begins to decay.

1851 W. B. Carpenter Man. Physiol. (ed. 2) 22 The parent-cell having arrived at its full development..dies and decays.

4. To fall off in vital energy; to lose health and strength (of body or faculties); also, to lose the bloom of youth and health.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > diseases of tissue > wasting disease > have wasting disease [verb (intransitive)]

dwinec1000

shrinkc1000

swindOE

wastea1300

pinea1325

rot1340

tapishc1375

wastea1387

consume1495

decaya1538

winder1600

pule1607

moch1818

to run down1826

tabefy1891

a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 32 Wythout the wych hys helth long can not be maynteynyd, but schortly of necesstye hyt must dekey.

1655 N. Culpeper et al. tr. L. Rivière Pract. Physick i. xi. 38 His Imagination began to decay.

1717 A. Pope Rape of Lock (new ed.) v, in Wks. 159 But since, alas! frail beauty must decay.

1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc vii. 337 Feel life itself with that false hope decay.

1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) V. 20 An author whose original powers are beginning to decay.

II. transitive.

†5. To cause to fall off or deteriorate. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > adversity > suffer (adversity or affliction) [verb (transitive)] > bring to lower condition or lay low

settle1338

subduea1500

decaya1535

redact1542

reduce1567

to lay any one on his back1662

a1535 T. More Dialoge of Comfort (1553) ii. xvii. sig. L.iiii For feare of decaying the common wealth, men are dryuen to putte malefactors to payn.

1565 J. Jewel Def. Apol. Churche Eng. (1611) 362 We haue decaied no mans Power or right.

1665 T. Manley tr. H. Grotius De Rebus Belgicis 299 His last five years had much decayed his Reputation.

1692 J. Locke Some Considerations Lowering Interest 129 A High Interest decays Trade.

†6. To cause to fall off (in number, amount, etc.); to reduce, cause to dwindle. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > reduce in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (transitive)] > cause to decline or fall off

withdrawc1450

decay1550

rot1567

1550 R. Crowley One & Thyrtye Epigrammes sig. Ciii^v Yet can there nothynge, my flocke more decaye, Then when hyrelynges suffer my shepe go astraye.

1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. i. xlix. 35 a When he had decaied the number of the nobles.

a1626 F. Bacon Elements Common Lawes (1630) 27 If I do decay the game whereby there is no Deere.

†7.

a. To waste or ruin physically; to disintegrate, dilapidate; to bring to decay or ruin. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > cause bad condition in [verb (transitive)] > cause to decay

decay1536

perisha1549

1536 Exhort. North in F. J. Furnivall Ballads from MSS I. 306 Downe streght to the grownde Many are besy them [abbeys] to dekay.

1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning i. sig. M1^v Pallaces, Temples, Castles, Cities haue been decayed, and demolished.

1636 H. Blount Voy. Levant 46 Where there were any raine, it would settle..and decay the building.

1700 Moxon's Mech. Exercises: Bricklayers-wks. 3 No time will Impair or decay those Grey Kentish Bricks.

b. To destroy by decomposition; to rot.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > corruption or putridness > make corrupt or putrid [verb (transitive)]

corrump1340

corruptc1384

putrefya1400

fadec1400

rotc1405

corrup1483

rotten1569

attaint1573

carrionize1593

putrefact1598

ranken1599

decay1626

wrox1649

the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > cause bad condition in [verb (transitive)] > cause to rot or putrefy

corrump1340

corruptc1384

putrefya1400

fadec1400

rotc1405

rotten1569

carrionize1593

putrefact1598

ranken1599

decay1626

wrox1649

ret1846

1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §995 To lay that which you cut off to putrefie, to see whether it will decay the rest of the stock.

1631 B. Jonson Divell is Asse iv. iii. 33 in Wks. II Painting..Decayes the fore-teeth.

1703 R. Neve City & Countrey Purchaser 210 Lime and Wood are insociable, the former very much corrodeing and decaying the latter.

1893 Mrs. A. Arnold in Westm. Gaz. 27 Feb. 9/2 Is it probable that a blooming girl would defile her breath, decay her teeth, and damage her complexion [by smoking]?

8. To cause (the body or faculties) to fail in vital energy, health, or beauty.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > cause to be ill [verb (transitive)] > make weak

fellOE

wastec1230

faintc1386

endull1395

resolvea1398

afaintc1400

defeat?c1400

dissolvec1400

weakc1400

craze1476

feeblish1477

debilite1483

overfeeble1495

plucka1529

to bring low1530

debilitate1541

acraze1549

decaya1554

infirma1555

weaken1569

effeeble1571

enervate1572

enfeeble1576

slay1578

to pull downa1586

prosternate1593

shake1594

to lay along1598

unsinew1598

languefy1607

enerve1613

pulla1616

dispirit1647

imbecilitate1647

unstring1700

to run down1733

sap1755

reduce1767

prostrate1780

shatter1785

undermine1812

imbecile1829

disinvigorate1844

devitalize1849

wreck1850

atrophy1865

crumple1892

a1554 J. Croke tr. Thirteen Psalms (1844) cii. 24 Ther is no tyme can the decaye.

1568 E. Tilney Brief Disc. Mariage (new ed.) sig. Cj^v Wine..if it be abused..decaying womens bewtie.

1669 J. Denham Cato Major i. 14 But Age ('tis said) will memory decay.

1713 J. Addison in Guardian 29 July 2/1 Almost every thing which corrupts the Soul decays the Body.

1718 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 10 Mar. (1965) I. 381 She had the remains of a fine face more decay'd by Sorrow than time.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	decay
释义	decayn. /dɪˈkeɪ/ Forms: For forms see decay v. Etymology: < decay v. Compare medieval Latin decheium in Du Cange. 1. a. The process of falling off from a prosperous or thriving condition; progressive decline; the condition of one who has thus fallen off or declined. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > badness or evil > worse > [noun] > state or condition ebbc1400 decayc1460 witheredness1535 decadencec1550 autumn1590 fall1590 dotage1606 twilight1609 pejority1615 decadency1632 atrophy1653 effeteness1862 wallow1934 c1460 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (1885) xvi The estate off þe Romans..hath ffallen alwey sythyn, into suche decay, þat nowe [etc.]. 1558 Bp. T. Watson Holsome Doctr. Seuen Sacramentes i. f. iii He repayreth all our decaies in grace. 1587 J. Higgins Mirour for Magistrates (new ed.) Albanacte lxvi Discord brings all kingdomes to decay. 1611 Bible (King James) Lev. xxv. 35 If thy brother bee waxen poore, and fallen in decay with thee. View more context for this quotation 1718 Mem. Life J. Kettlewell iii. §103. 439 Perceiving..a very Sensible Decay of his Spirits. 1856 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. i. 9 At present, the decay of a town implies the decay of the trade of the town. 1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People v. §3. 228 The decay of the University of Paris..had transferred her intellectual supremacy to Oxford. †b. Formerly sometimes = Downfall, destruction, ruin; poetic fall, death. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > [noun] > state of being destroyed or ruined lossc897 losingc950 lore971 destructionc1330 forlesing1340 lostc1374 undoing1377 perditiona1382 shendc1400 decay1535 rack1599 undoneness1835 wanthrift1929 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms cv[i]. 36 They worshipped their ymages, which turned to their owne decaye. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. vi. sig. F6 In hope to bring her to her last decay. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. ix. sig. V4^v Fly fast, and saue yourselues from neare decay. 1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. E1 To kill thine Honour with thy liues decaie . View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iv. iii. 155. a1724 Battle of Harlaw xxv, in Ramsay Evergreen Grit Dolour was for his Decay, That sae unhappylie was slain. 2. †a. Falling off (in quantity, volume, intensity, etc.); dwindling, decrease. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > declining or falling off declinea1327 fadea1400 paira1400 declining1481 vading1570 fall1590 hield1599 languishment1617 decay1636 defalcation1649 decidence1655 fall-off1676 falling off1761 fallaway1879 downswing1922 1636 H. Blount Voy. Levant 46 The opinion of our decay in stature from our forefathers. 1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ iii. iv. §6 The decay of many of them [springs] in hot and dry weather. 1669 A. Browne Ars Pictoria (1675) 39 The shadows..being caused by the decay of the light. 1691 T. Hale Acct. New Inventions p. lxxxiv Complaints were brought to the Council-Board, of the great Decay of that River. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 62 The decay of sound has been supposed by some to be nearly in the direct ratio of the distances. b. Physics. The gradual decrease in the radioactivity of a substance; hence, the spontaneous transformation of a single atomic nucleus or elementary particle into one or more different nuclei or particles. Also attributive. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactivity > [noun] > decrease in radioactivity decay1897 1897 Rutherford in London, Edinb. & Dublin Philos. Mag. 5th Ser. 44 425 The intensity of the radiation varied widely, but in all cases the rate of decay was found to be in close agreement with theory. 1902 Rutherford & Allen in London, Edinb. & Dublin Philos. Mag. 6th Ser. 4 708 The decay-curve for a copper wire exposed 210 minutes inside the laboratory. 1905 Nature 13 Apr. 574/1 Different samples gave for the half-period of decay from 52 to 55 seconds. 1931 G. Gamow Constit. Atomic Nuclei ii. 31 One of the most important characteristics of a decaying nucleus is its decay constant.., giving the probability of disintegration per unit time. 1938 R. W. Lawson tr. G. von Hevesy & F. A. Paneth Man. Radioactivity (ed. 2) xxiii. 223 Uranium Z..may be a decay product of a uranium isotope other than ²³⁸U. 1958 J. L. Perkin in O. R. Frisch Nucl. Handbk. iii. 7 The decay of a nucleus via various excited levels of the final nucleus is shown diagrammatically. 1962 H. D. Bush Atomic & Nucl. Physics iv. 81 The half-life of uranium I..is obviously too long to determine by measuring the decay of its activity. 1968 M. S. Livingston Particle Physics xi. 196 The most fundamental weak interaction is the decay of the neutron into a proton, an electron, and an antineutrino. 1969 Times 12 Mar. 4/7 The radioactive decay of uranium..has long been recognized as a means of fixing the ages of remote cosmological events. c. A progressive diminution in the amplitude of an oscillation or vibration. ΚΠ 1906 J. A. Fleming Princ. Electr. Wave Telegr. i. 15 Frictional resistance causes decay in the amplitude of the oscillations by dissipating their energy as heat. 1922 R. Glazebrook Dict. Appl. Physics II. 111/1 The damping of the oscillations is determined by b..which is called the damping coefficient or the coefficient of decay. 1950 R. W. B. Stephens & A. E. Bate Wave Motion & Sound 357 This decay of amplitude is known as damping and the motion is referred to as damped harmonic motion. 1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio iii. 56 Some percussive instruments, such as tympani, continue to sound for some time, and have decay characteristics which are somewhat similar to that of reverberation. 3. a. Of material things: Wasting or wearing away, disintegration; dilapidation, ruinous condition. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > [noun] > decay or decaying decas1393 decay1523 corrupting1565 fretting1582 marcor1646 contabescence1650 rot1663 decayedness1702 1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Surueyeng i. f. 1 Those castelles..that be fallen in dekay and nat inhabyted. 1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets xiii. sig. B3^v Who lets so faire a house fall to decay ? View more context for this quotation 1757 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. II. 135 That edifice, by length of time, fell to decay, and lay in ruins. 1839 T. Keightley Hist. Eng. II. 41 The decay of these sacred edifices. †b. plural. Dilapidations; concrete ruined remains, ruins, debris, detritus. (Rarely in singular.) Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > that which is left or remainder > [noun] > remains > after destructive agency > decayed remnant(s) relicsc1350 ruinc1425 ruins1544 decays1582 debris1708 wreck1713 shard1786 faulturea1821 detritus1834 1582 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxf. (1880) 427 The Bayliffs..shall..make relation unto this howsse what the decayes are. 1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 176 Beyond are the decayes of a Church. 1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. v. 200 The decayes whereof being much semblable to..the stony heapes of Jericho. 1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. iii. 82 Jehoiada was careful to amend the decayes of the Temple. 1777 G. Forster Voy. round World I. 313 A vegetable mould, mixed with volcanic decays. figurative.1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xxiv. 292 What comfort to this decay may come, shall be applied. View more context for this quotation1663 R. South Serm. preached Nov. 9, 1662 15 And certainly that must needs have been very glorious, whose decayes are so admirable. c. figurative. The gradual ‘wearing down’ of words or phonetic elements in language. ΚΠ 1874 A. H. Sayce Princ. Compar. Philol. i. 18 Contraction and decay may be carried so far as to become an idiosyncracy of a particular language. 1877 T. L. Papillon Man. Compar. Philol. iv. 56 The principle of ‘Phonetic Decay’, which plays so large a part in the history of language. 4. a. Decline of the vital energy or faculties (through disease or old age); breaking up of the health and constitution; formerly also (with plural), effect, mark, or sign of physical decay. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > [noun] > weakening or decline in health failinga1382 sickeninga1382 wasting1398 downhielda1400 dissolutionc1400 debilitationa1492 defailing1502 effeeblishing1540 faintingc1540 effeeblishment1545 enervationa1575 feeblishing1574 declining1588 decay1609 flagging1611 labefaction1620 feebling1624 sinking1625 deading1645 dejection1652 fail1654 emperiment1674 decline1770 sapping1825 breakdown1858 attenuation1868 1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets xi. sig. B3 Age, and could decay . View more context for this quotation 1611 B. Jonson Catiline ii. sig. D2^v Shee has beene a fine Ladie..and paints, and hides Her decayes very well. View more context for this quotation 1720 R. Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 498 Notwithstanding my great age and decays, I am able to preach..in the largest meeting-house in Boston. 1752 S. Johnson Rambler No. 203. ⁋12 In the pains of disease, and the languor of decay. 1860 W. F. Hook Lives Archbishops Canterbury (1869) I. vii. 421 The archbishop..had begun to show symptoms of decay. †b. spec. Consumption, phthisis; ‘a decline’. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > diseases of tissue > wasting disease > [noun] > consumption phthisic1301 consumptiona1398 phthisis1525 studious consumption1666 consumptiveness1677 colliquitation1720 decay1725 wearing1824 consumptivity1889 1725 N. Robinson New Theory of Physick 150 A perfect Hectic, which inseparably accompanies Wastes, Decays, and Consumptions. 1746 G. Berkeley Let. Tar-water §23 Dropsies, decays, and other maladies. 1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian vi, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. II. 165 Her son that she had left at hame weak of a decay. 5. The destructive decomposition or wasting of organic tissue; rotting. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > corruption or putridness > [noun] > process of rottingOE corruption1377 rotc1384 putrefactiona1400 putrification1548 putriture1569 tainting1593 decay1594 putrescence1646 decomposition1777 sepsis1813 1594 H. Plat Diuers Chimicall Concl. Distillation 42 in Jewell House One day, or two, before you feare the decay of your decoction, set the same on the fire. 1748 Acct. Voy. for Discov. North-west Passage I. 138 Such Wood as is upon the Decay, but not yet become rotten. 1771 J. Hunter Nat. Hist. Human Teeth 122 Fill the hole with lead, which prevents the pain and retards the decay. 1775 J. Harris Philos. Arrangem. The body ceases to live, and the members soon pass into putrefaction and decay. 1860 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters V. 159 The decay of leaves. 1878 L. P. Meredith Teeth (ed. 2) 115 The teeth will come together, and further decay will almost infallibly result. †6. A cause of decay; the ‘destruction’ or ‘ruin of’ anything. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > [noun] > a harmful thing or person > thing thornc1230 plaguea1382 foea1393 evila1400 flaw1481 detriment?1504 tooth1546 fang1555 decay1563 bane1577 dagger1600 scourge1603 cursea1616 blighter1821 bacillus1883 1563 2nd Tome Homelyes Homily x. Pt. i Som worldly witted men think it a great decaye to the quiete and prudent gouernynge of their commonwealthes to geue eare to the simple and playne rules..of our Sauiour. 1584 H. Llwyd & D. Powel Hist. Cambria 21 This partition is the very decaie of great families. 1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets lxxx. sig. F^v My loue was my decay . View more context for this quotation 1668 J. Child Brief Observ. Trade 23 Trade; to which the high rate of Usury is a great prejudice and decay. 1674 A. Wood Life & Times (1892) II. 300 The decay of study, and consequently of learning, are coffy houses. †7. Failure of payment or rent; arrears. Obsolete. [medieval Latin decasus redditus, decatum.] ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > management of money > insolvency > indebtedness > [noun] > a debt > arrears arrearagesc1315 reragea1325 rest1447 remain1501 decay1546 by-run1573 remainder1597 arrears1648 bygonesa1676 arrearance1731 1546 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 199 The possessiones of the Guyld, wyth the decayes, ben yerly valued at [etc.]. 1546 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 199 Decayes and defautes of Rentes. 1546 in J. T. Fowler Memorials Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1888) III. 31 One Annuall Rent..in decay and not payde. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online September 2021). decayv. /dɪˈkeɪ/ Forms: Middle English– decay; also Middle English–1500s dekay(e, dekey, 1500s–1600s decaye, decaie. Etymology: < Old French decair, dekair (subjunctive present decaie), variant of decaoir, dechaoir, decheoir, now déchoir = Spanish decaer, Portuguese decahir, Italian decadēre, a Common Romance compound of de- down + cadēre = Latin cadĕre to fall. The French forms in -eir, -oir correspond to the -ēre type, those in -ir in Old French and Portuguese have passed over to the -īre conjugation. I. intransitive. 1. a. To fall off (in quality or condition); to deteriorate or become impaired; to lose its characteristic quality, strength, or excellence; to be in a failing condition. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > badness or evil > worse > [verb (intransitive)] worseeOE aswindc885 worsena1250 appair1340 impair1340 fainta1375 pairc1390 vade1471 decay1511 decline1530 degenerate1545 lapse1641 addle1654 sunset1656 deteriorate1758 worst1781 descend1829 disimprove1846 slush1882 devolute1893 worser1894 the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > deteriorate in condition [verb (intransitive)] > be decayed > decay to-dreseOE forbraidc1220 perisha1382 fret1486 to fall awayc1510 decay1511 pallc1560 1511–12 Act 3 Hen. VIII c. 3 Preamble Archerie..is right litell used, but dayly mynessheth, decayth and abateth. a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. lxxxxv. f. xxxvii The seruyce of god..by mean of y^e Saxons was greatly decayde thorough all Brytayne. 1583 P. Stubbes Second Pt. Anat. Abuses sig. K6 Whereby learning greatlie decaieth. 1609 S. Rowlands Whole Crew Kind Gossips sig. C^v His loue to me now daily doth decay. 1677 A. Yarranton England's Improvem. 49 Common Honesty is necessary for Trade, and without it Trade will decay. 1728 A. Pope Dunciad i. 221 How Prologues into Prefaces decay. 1812 J. Wilson Isle of Palms iii. 273 Entranced there the Lovers gaze Till every human fear decays. b. To decline from prosperity or fortune. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > adversity > be in adversity [verb (intransitive)] > fall from prosperous or thriving condition afalleOE wanec1000 fallOE ebba1420 to go backward?a1425 to go down?1440 decay1483 sink?a1513 delapsea1530 reel1529 decline1530 to go backwards1562 rue1576 droop1577 ruina1600 set1607 lapse1641 to lose ground1647 to go to pigs and whistles1794 to come (also go) down in the world1819 to peg out1852 to lose hold, one's balance1877 to go under1879 toboggan1887 slip1930 to turn down1936 the mind > possession > poverty > be poor [verb (intransitive)] > become poor poor?a1300 to come downa1382 decay1483 to bring haddock to paddock1546 to come to want1590 ruina1600 to come (also go) down in the world1819 1483 Act 1 Rich. III c. 12 §1 The Artificers of this seid Realme..ben greatly empoveresshed and dailly dekeyn. 1483 W. Caxton tr. Caton H ij It is seen selde the juste to dekaye ne to haue nede. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Prov. xi. B When the iust are in wealth, the cite prospereth: but whan the vngodly haue the rule, it decayeth. 1663 S. Pepys Diary 15 May (1971) IV. 139 The Dutch decay there [i.e. in the East Indies] exceedingly. 1816 W. Scott Old Mortality i, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. II. 28 Ancient..families..decayed into the humble vale of life. 2. †a. To fall off or decrease (in number, volume, amount, intensity, etc.); to dwindle away. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > space > extension in space > reduction in size or extent > become reduced in size or extent [verb (intransitive)] narrowOE waneOE smallOE slakec1380 welk1390 fade1398 lessenc1400 minish?a1425 decay1489 adminisha1500 diminish1520 to grow downwards?1523 ungrow1598 scant1607 settlea1642 to run off1765 dwarf1776 comminute1850 downsize1977 the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > decrease in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (intransitive)] littleOE setc1000 wanzec1175 lessc1225 allayc1275 wane1297 slaken1303 disincreasec1374 slakec1380 decrease1382 debatea1400 unwaxa1400 wastea1400 adminishc1400 lessenc1400 imminish14.. aslakec1405 minish?a1425 assuagec1430 shrinkc1449 to let down1486 decay1489 diminish1520 fall1523 rebate1540 batea1542 to come down1548 abate1560 stoop1572 pine1580 slack1580 scanten1585 shrivel1588 decrew1596 remit1629 contract1648 subside1680 lower1697 relax1701 drop1730 to take off1776 to run down1792 reduce1798 recede1810 to run off1816 to go down1823 attenuatea1834 ease1876 downscale1945 1489 Act 4 Hen. VII c. 16 The which Isle is lately decayed of people. 1568 Bible (Bishops') Job xiv. 11 The fludde decayeth and dryeth vp. 1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 168 It became a hard question, whether my spirits or Gold decayed faster. 1691 T. Hale Acct. New Inventions p. xc The Shipping and Number of our Seamen were decay'd about a third part. 1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 67 The Water drank is usually Rain-water preserved in Tanks, which decaying, they are forced to dig Wells. 1725 W. Broome in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey III. xii. 237 'Till dying off, the distant sounds decay. ?1790 J. Imison School of Arts (ed. 2) 126 The candle will burn a minute; and then, having gradually decayed from the first instant, will go out. b. Of an oscillation or vibration: gradually to decrease in amplitude, so that each swing is smaller than the one before. Also said of the amplitude of the oscillation. ΚΠ 1879 Encycl. Brit. VIII. 11/2 Sir W. Thomson investigated mathematically the discharge of a Leyden jar..and predicted that under certain circumstances the discharge would consist of a series of decaying oscillations. 1906 J. A. Fleming Princ. Electr. Wave Telegr. 573 A very important matter in connection with practical electric wave telegraphy is the rate at which the wave amplitude decays during the emission of a wave train from the antenna. 1927 I. B. Crandall Theory Vibrating Syst. i. 8 The natural oscillations may be made to decay very rapidly, or to disappear altogether, if the damping factor is made very large. 1944 A. Wood Physics of Music ii. 23 Sound-waves are carrying energy more rapidly away from the fork, and the vibrations therefore decay more rapidly. 1959 Chambers's Encycl. I. 375/1 The amplitude of the swing about the final true position decays exponentially with time. c. Physics. Of radioactivity: gradually to diminish in intensity; of a substance: to suffer a gradual decrease in its radioactive power, to undergo nuclear disintegration. Hence, of a radioactive substance, an atomic nucleus, or an elementary particle: to change or disintegrate into one or more different substances, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactive isotope > radioactive nuclide > lose radioactivity [verb (intransitive)] decay1900 1900 Rutherford in London, Edinb. & Dublin Philos. Mag. 49 177 The intensity of the ‘excited’ radiation falls to half its value in about eleven hours, or one decays 660 times faster than the other. 1913 E. Rutherford Radioactive Substances viii. 339 The active deposit..decays in situ and this results in an apparent decrease of the activity. 1942 J. D. Stranathan ‘Particles’ of Mod. Physics viii. 326 The half life period T of a radioactive substance is defined as the time required for one half of the active material present at any time to decay. 1958 W. K. Mansfield Elem. Nucl. Physics iii. 21 It is found experimentally that the probability of an unstable nucleus, known as a radioactive nucleus, decaying within a given time is constant. 1962 H. D. Bush Atomic & Nucl. Physics iv. 80 Uranium X does not decay into a stable product but is the parent of a chain of radioactive daughter products. 1968 M. S. Livingston Particle Physics iv. 72 In matter, when π⁺ pions are slowed down by ionizing impacts, they decay into positive muons and muon neutrinos. 3. a. To fall into physical ruin; to waste away, wear out, become ruined. ΚΠ a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. lvi. f. xix Aruiragus..with great dilygence Repayred Cyties and Townes before decayed. 1576 W. Lambarde Perambulation of Kent 249 This house, by that time..was decayed, either by age, or flame, or bothe. 1645 J. Milton On University Carrier ii, in Poems 29 Made of sphear-metal, never to decay Untill his revolution was at stay. 1694 Coll. Several Late Voy. (1711) I. 45 There was Water over the Salt, which began to decay with the Rain and Weather being on it. 1748 Acct. Voy. for Discov. North-west Passage I. 51 The Ise being inseparable, as it was very little decayed. b. To suffer decomposition; to rot. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > corruption or putridness > become corrupt or putrid [verb (intransitive)] forrota900 foulOE rotOE rank?a1300 corrumpc1374 to-rota1382 putrefya1400 mourkenc1400 corruptc1405 festerc1475 decay1574 rankle1612 tainta1616 decompose1793 wrox1847 the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > deteriorate in condition [verb (intransitive)] > rot or putrefy forrota900 foulOE rotOE rank?a1300 corrumpc1374 to-rota1382 putrefya1400 mourkenc1400 corruptc1405 festerc1475 rottena1500 decay1574 rankle1612 tainta1616 moth1624 ret1846 wrox1847 1574 J. Baret Aluearie D 148 Y^t soone is ripe, doth soone decaie. 1737 A. Pope Epist. of Horace ii. ii. 19 As Winter-fruits grow mild e'er they decay. 1771 J. Hunter Nat. Hist. Human Teeth 122 When an opening is made into the cavity of the Tooth, the inside begins to decay. 1851 W. B. Carpenter Man. Physiol. (ed. 2) 22 The parent-cell having arrived at its full development..dies and decays. 4. To fall off in vital energy; to lose health and strength (of body or faculties); also, to lose the bloom of youth and health. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > diseases of tissue > wasting disease > have wasting disease [verb (intransitive)] dwinec1000 shrinkc1000 swindOE wastea1300 pinea1325 rot1340 tapishc1375 wastea1387 consume1495 decaya1538 winder1600 pule1607 moch1818 to run down1826 tabefy1891 a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 32 Wythout the wych hys helth long can not be maynteynyd, but schortly of necesstye hyt must dekey. 1655 N. Culpeper et al. tr. L. Rivière Pract. Physick i. xi. 38 His Imagination began to decay. 1717 A. Pope Rape of Lock (new ed.) v, in Wks. 159 But since, alas! frail beauty must decay. 1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc vii. 337 Feel life itself with that false hope decay. 1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) V. 20 An author whose original powers are beginning to decay. II. transitive. †5. To cause to fall off or deteriorate. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > adversity > suffer (adversity or affliction) [verb (transitive)] > bring to lower condition or lay low settle1338 subduea1500 decaya1535 redact1542 reduce1567 to lay any one on his back1662 a1535 T. More Dialoge of Comfort (1553) ii. xvii. sig. L.iiii For feare of decaying the common wealth, men are dryuen to putte malefactors to payn. 1565 J. Jewel Def. Apol. Churche Eng. (1611) 362 We haue decaied no mans Power or right. 1665 T. Manley tr. H. Grotius De Rebus Belgicis 299 His last five years had much decayed his Reputation. 1692 J. Locke Some Considerations Lowering Interest 129 A High Interest decays Trade. †6. To cause to fall off (in number, amount, etc.); to reduce, cause to dwindle. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > reduce in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (transitive)] > cause to decline or fall off withdrawc1450 decay1550 rot1567 1550 R. Crowley One & Thyrtye Epigrammes sig. Ciii^v Yet can there nothynge, my flocke more decaye, Then when hyrelynges suffer my shepe go astraye. 1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. i. xlix. 35 a When he had decaied the number of the nobles. a1626 F. Bacon Elements Common Lawes (1630) 27 If I do decay the game whereby there is no Deere. †7. a. To waste or ruin physically; to disintegrate, dilapidate; to bring to decay or ruin. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > cause bad condition in [verb (transitive)] > cause to decay decay1536 perisha1549 1536 Exhort. North in F. J. Furnivall Ballads from MSS I. 306 Downe streght to the grownde Many are besy them [abbeys] to dekay. 1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning i. sig. M1^v Pallaces, Temples, Castles, Cities haue been decayed, and demolished. View more context for this quotation 1636 H. Blount Voy. Levant 46 Where there were any raine, it would settle..and decay the building. 1700 Moxon's Mech. Exercises: Bricklayers-wks. 3 No time will Impair or decay those Grey Kentish Bricks. b. To destroy by decomposition; to rot. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > corruption or putridness > make corrupt or putrid [verb (transitive)] corrump1340 corruptc1384 putrefya1400 fadec1400 rotc1405 corrup1483 rotten1569 attaint1573 carrionize1593 putrefact1598 ranken1599 decay1626 wrox1649 the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > cause bad condition in [verb (transitive)] > cause to rot or putrefy corrump1340 corruptc1384 putrefya1400 fadec1400 rotc1405 rotten1569 carrionize1593 putrefact1598 ranken1599 decay1626 wrox1649 ret1846 1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §995 To lay that which you cut off to putrefie, to see whether it will decay the rest of the stock. 1631 B. Jonson Divell is Asse iv. iii. 33 in Wks. II Painting..Decayes the fore-teeth. 1703 R. Neve City & Countrey Purchaser 210 Lime and Wood are insociable, the former very much corrodeing and decaying the latter. 1893 Mrs. A. Arnold in Westm. Gaz. 27 Feb. 9/2 Is it probable that a blooming girl would defile her breath, decay her teeth, and damage her complexion [by smoking]? 8. To cause (the body or faculties) to fail in vital energy, health, or beauty. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > cause to be ill [verb (transitive)] > make weak fellOE wastec1230 faintc1386 endull1395 resolvea1398 afaintc1400 defeat?c1400 dissolvec1400 weakc1400 craze1476 feeblish1477 debilite1483 overfeeble1495 plucka1529 to bring low1530 debilitate1541 acraze1549 decaya1554 infirma1555 weaken1569 effeeble1571 enervate1572 enfeeble1576 slay1578 to pull downa1586 prosternate1593 shake1594 to lay along1598 unsinew1598 languefy1607 enerve1613 pulla1616 dispirit1647 imbecilitate1647 unstring1700 to run down1733 sap1755 reduce1767 prostrate1780 shatter1785 undermine1812 imbecile1829 disinvigorate1844 devitalize1849 wreck1850 atrophy1865 crumple1892 a1554 J. Croke tr. Thirteen Psalms (1844) cii. 24 Ther is no tyme can the decaye. 1568 E. Tilney Brief Disc. Mariage (new ed.) sig. Cj^v Wine..if it be abused..decaying womens bewtie. 1669 J. Denham Cato Major i. 14 But Age ('tis said) will memory decay. 1713 J. Addison in Guardian 29 July 2/1 Almost every thing which corrupts the Soul decays the Body. 1718 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 10 Mar. (1965) I. 381 She had the remains of a fine face more decay'd by Sorrow than time. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.c1460v.1483
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