See Also: Decay(medicine)
Decay(health)
decay(1)(dictionary)
decay(2)(dictionary)
alpha decay(encyclopedia)
beta decay(encyclopedia)
decay (as used in expressions)(encyclopedia)
gamma decay(encyclopedia)
decay 1, verb(dictionary)
Time decay(finance)

decay(2) (iou)



decay verb. L15.
[Old & mod. French decair by-form of decaoir var. of dechaoir, decheoir (mod. dechoir) from Proto-Romance var. of Latin decidere, from de- DE- 1 + cadere to fall.]
I. verb intrans.
Deteriorate, decline in quality, prosperity, etc. L15.
Sir W. Scott Ancient..families..decayed..into the humble vale of life. John Gloag Impoverished widows and spinsters of the middle classes..were officially described as 'decayed gentlewomen'.
Fall into physical ruin or disrepair; waste away, fall apart; rot. L15.
J. Conrad His new but already decaying house. C. Priest The..heap that would..decay into..compost.
Decrease in quantity or magnitude; dwindle. Now chiefly Physics, undergo gradual decrease in the magnitude of a physical quantity. L15.
C. Sagan The orbits of artificial satellites are decaying all the time...They are..slowed by collisions with the..atmosphere.
b. spec. Of radioactivity: gradually decrease in intensity. Of a radioactive substance, nucleus, etc.: spontaneously change into one or more different substances, particles, etc. E20.
D. R. Hofstadter A photon..can decay..into an electron-positron pair.
Lose one's health and strength of body or mind; decline through age. M16.
Pope But since, alas! frail beauty must decay.
II. verb trans.
Cause to fall off or decline in quality, prosperity, number, etc.; ruin physically, dilapidate. Now rare. E16.
M. Beresford The Bishop..faced with an accusation of decaying three houses.
b. Destroy by decomposition, make rotten. E17.
Cause to fail in health, strength, etc. Now rare. M16.
Addison Almost every thing which corrupts the soul decays the body.
decayable adjective able or liable to decay E17.
decayer noun a person who or thing which causes decay M16.