From link (“hyperlink”) + rot (“process of becoming rotten”).
A compound of link ‘hyperlink’ + rot ‘process of becoming rotten’
Middle English linke
English link
Proto-Indo-European *Hrewd- ‘to tear’
Proto-Germanic *rutāną ‘to rot’
Proto-West Germanic *rotēn ‘to rot’
Old English rotian ‘to rot, become corrupted, ulcerate, putrefy’
Middle English roten ‘to become toxic or noxious’
English rot
Today it means
noun The steady increase in the number of broken hyperlinks as webpages are moved or removed.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / linkrot
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