different between decay vs decrement

English

Etymology

From Middle English decayen, dekeyen (“to decrease, diminish”), from Anglo-Norman decaeir (“to fall away, decay, decline”), from Medieval Latin *d?cadere, restored form of Latin decidere (“to fall away, fail, sink, perish”), from de (“down”) + cadere (“to fall”); compare decadent and decadence.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /d??ke?/
• Rhymes: -e?
• (US) enPR: d?-k??, IPA^(key): /di.?ke?/

Noun

decay (countable and uncountable, plural decays)

1. The process or result of being gradually decomposed.
2. A deterioration of condition; loss of status or fortune.

Derived terms

Related terms

• deciduous

Translations

Verb

decay (third-person singular simple present decays, present participle decaying, simple past and past participle decayed)

1. (intransitive) To deteriorate, to get worse, to lose strength or health, to decline in quality.

   The pair loved to take pictures in the decaying hospital on forty-third street.

   1. (intransitive, electronics, of storage media or the data on them) To undergo bit rot, that is, gradual degradation.
   2. (intransitive, computing, of software) To undergo software rot, that is, to fail to be updated in a changing environment, so as to eventually become legacy or obsolete.
   3. (intransitive, physics, of a satellite's orbit) To undergo prolonged reduction in altitude (above the orbited body).
      • 2009, Francis Lyall, Paul B. Larsen, Space Law: A Treatise, page 120:

        Damaged on lift-off, Skylab was left in orbit until its orbit decayed.

2. (intransitive, of organic material) To rot, to go bad.

   The cat's body decayed rapidly.

3. (intransitive, transitive, physics, chemistry, of an unstable atom) To change by undergoing fission, by emitting radiation, or by capturing or losing one or more electrons.
   • 2005, Encyclopedia of Earth Science (edited by Timothy M. Kusky; ?ISBN, page 349:

     Uranium decays to radium through a long series of steps with a cumulative half-life of 4.4 billion years.

4. (intransitive, transitive, physics, of a quantum system) To undergo optical decay, that is, to relax to a less excited state, usually by emitting a photon or phonon.
5. (intransitive, aviation) Loss of airspeed due to drag.
6. (transitive) To cause to rot or deteriorate.

   The extreme humidity decayed the wooden sculptures in the museum's collection in a matter of years.

Translations

Further reading

• decay in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• decay in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Dacey

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin decrementum.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?d?k??m?nt/

Noun

decrement (plural decrements)

1. A small quantity removed or lost. One of a series of regular subtractions.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:decrement

Antonyms

• increment; See also Thesaurus:adjunct

Verb

decrement (third-person singular simple present decrements, present participle decrementing, simple past and past participle decremented)

1. To decrease a value by a basic quantity unit.

Antonyms

• increment

Romanian

Etymology

From French décrément.

Noun

decrement n (plural decremente)

1. decrement

Declension