English
decay
Decay comes from Anglo-Norman decaeir ‘to fall away, decay, decline’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ḱad-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱad-‘to fall’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱádetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kadō‘to fall, sink’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcadō‘to fall’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēcidōas dēcidere, etymologically restored form‘to fall down, to fail, sink or perish’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*dēcaderereconstructed
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400decaeir‘to fall away, decay, decline’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500decaien‘to decrease, diminish’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588decay
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱad-‘to fall’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱádetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kadō‘to fall, sink’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcadō‘to fall’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēcidōas dēcidere, etymologically restored form‘to fall down, to fail, sink or perish’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*dēcaderereconstructed
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400decaeir‘to fall away, decay, decline’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500decaien‘to decrease, diminish’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588decay
Earliest quotation: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “Let’s cheere our ſouldiers to incounter him, That grieuous…”
Linked words
through Latin cadō ‘to fall’
chance, case, accident, incident, occasion, cheat, incidence, casualty, coincide, occidental, cadence, recidivism, cadaver, occident, 15 more
through Latin dēcidō ‘to fall down, to fail, sink or perish’
Today it means
noun Rot; any processes or result of organic matter being gradually decomposed, especially by microbial action.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱad- / decay