Decay

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language

·noun Cause of decay.

II. Decay ·noun Destruction; death.

III. Decay ·vt To Destroy.

IV. Decay ·vt To cause to decay; to Impair.

V. Decay ·noun Gradual failure of health, strength, soundness, prosperity, or of any species of excellence or perfection; tendency toward dissolution or extinction; corruption; rottenness; decline; deterioration; as, the decay of the body; the decay of virtue; the decay of the Roman empire; a castle in decay.

VI. Decay ·vi To pass gradually from a sound, prosperous, or perfect state, to one of imperfection, adversity, or dissolution; to waste away; to Decline; to Fail; to become weak, corrupt, or disintegrated; to Rot; to Perish; as, a tree decays; fortunes decay; hopes decay.