English
decadent
Decadent comes from French décadent ‘decaying, deteriorating, in decline’, from Late Latin dēcidō ‘sink, fall’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱh₂d-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱh₂d-root as named
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱád-e-tireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kadō‘to fall, sink’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcadō‘fall’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdēcidō‘sink, fall’
- Late Latin, derivedc. 200–600 CEdēcadēns
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500dēcadentia
- Frenchc. 1600–presentdécadence
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentdécadent‘decaying, deteriorating, in decline’
- Englishearliest quotation 1992decadent
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱh₂d-root as named
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱád-e-tireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kadō‘to fall, sink’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcadō‘fall’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdēcidō‘sink, fall’
- Late Latin, derivedc. 200–600 CEdēcadēns
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500dēcadentia
- Frenchc. 1600–presentdécadence
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentdécadent‘decaying, deteriorating, in decline’
- Englishearliest quotation 1992decadent
Earliest quotation: 1992, Gore Vidal: “As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too.…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱh₂d-
casual, coincidence, cascade, coincident, 1 more
through Latin cadō ‘fall’
case, chance, occasion, accident, cheat, incident, casualty, coincide, incidence, recidivism, occidental, cadence, cadaver, occident, 15 more
through Late Latin dēcidō ‘sink, fall’
Today it means
adj Characterized by moral or cultural decline.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱh₂d- / decadent