decay
pronunciation
How to pronounce decay in British English:
UK [dɪˈkeɪ]
How to pronounce decay in American English:
US [dɪˈkeɪ]
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- Noun:
- the process of gradually becoming inferior
- a gradual decrease; as of stored charge or current
- the organic phenomenon of rotting
- an inferior state resulting from the process of decaying
- the spontaneous disintegration of a radioactive substance along with the emission of ionizing radiation
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- Verb:
- lose a stored charge, magnetic flux, or current
- fall into decay or ruin
- undergo decay or decomposition
Word Origin
- decay
- decay: [15] The notion underlying decay and its close relative decadence is of a ‘falling off’ from a condition of health or perfection. Decay comes from Old Northern French decair, a descendant of Vulgar Latin *dēcadere, which in turn came from Latin dēcidere, a compound verb formed from the prefix dē- ‘down, off, away’ and cadere ‘fall’ (source of English case and a wide range of related words). Decadence [16] was acquired via the medieval derivative dēcadentia. To the same word-family belongs deciduous [17], from Latin dēciduus, literally denoting the ‘falling off’ of leaves from trees.=> accident, case, chance, decadence, deciduous
- decay (v.)
- late 15c., "to decrease," from Anglo-French decair, Old North French decair (Old French decheoir, 12c., Modern French déchoir) "to fall, set (of the sun), weaken, decline, decay," from Vulgar Latin *decadere "to fall off," from de- (see de-) + Latin cadere "to fall" (see case (n.1)). Meaning "decline, deteriorate" is c. 1500; that of "to decompose, rot" is from 1570s. Related: Decayed; decaying.
- decay (n.)
- mid-15c., "deterioration, decline in value," from decay (v.). Meaning "gradual decrease in radioactivity" is from 1897.
Synonym
Example
- 1. But a new us study in nature suggests the genetic decay has all but ended .
- 2. With radioactivity , if you give me a single atom of uranium , I can tell you it will eventually decay .
- 3. The higgs should occasionally decay into a pair of photons , which would produce a bump in the photon-pair energy distribution .
- 4. A variety of chemical batteries have been tried , as well as inductive recharging schemes and even plutonium power cells that convert the heat from radioactive decay into electricity .
- 5. But planetary scientists reckon both may have subsurface oceans , kept liquid by a combination of radioactive decay and tidal heating from saturn and jupiter , their respective parent planets .