6  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Decay  \De*cay"\,  v.  i.  [imp.  &  p.  p.  {Decayed};  p.  pr  &  vb  n. 
  {Decaying}.]  [OF.  decaeir  dechaer  decheoir  F.  d['e]choir, 
  to  decline  fall,  become  less  L.  de-  +  cadere  to  fall.  See 
  {Chance}.] 
  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. 
 
  Ill  fares  the  land,  to  hastening  ills  a  prey,  Where 
  wealth  accumulates  and  men  decay.  --Goldsmith. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Decay  \De*cay"\,  v.  t. 
  1.  To  cause  to  decay;  to  impair.  [R.] 
 
  Infirmity,  that  decays  the  wise.  --Shak. 
 
  2.  To  destroy.  [Obs.]  --Shak. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Decay  \De*cay"\,  n. 
  1.  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. 
 
  Perhaps  my  God,  though  he  be  far  before  May  turn, 
  and  take  me  by  the  hand,  and  more  -  May  strengthen 
  my  decays.  --Herbert. 
 
  His  [Johnson's]  failure  was  not  to  be  ascribed  to 
  intellectual  decay.  --Macaulay. 
 
  Which  has  caused  the  decay  of  the  consonants  to 
  follow  somewhat  different  laws.  --James  Byrne. 
 
  2.  Destruction;  death.  [Obs.]  --Spenser. 
 
  3.  Cause  of  decay.  [R.] 
 
  He  that  plots  to  be  the  only  figure  among  ciphers, 
  is  the  decay  of  the  whole  age.  --Bacon. 
 
  Syn:  Decline  consumption.  See  {Decline}. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  decay 
  n  1:  the  process  of  gradually  becoming  inferior 
  2:  a  gradual  decrease;  as  of  stored  charge  or  current  [syn:  {decline}] 
  3:  the  organic  phenomenon  of  rotting  [syn:  {decomposition}] 
  4:  an  inferior  state  resulting  from  the  process  of  decaying; 
  "the  corpse  was  in  an  advanced  state  of  decay";  "the  house 
  had  fallen  into  a  serious  state  of  decay  and  disrepair" 
  5:  the  spontaneous  disintegration  of  a  radioactive  substance 
  along  with  the  emission  of  ionizing  radiation  [syn:  {radioactive 
  decay},  {disintegration}] 
  6:  the  phenomenon  of  spontaneous  changes  in  the  nucleus  of  an 
  atom  [syn:  {radioactive  decay}] 
  v  1:  lose  a  stored  charge,  magnetic  flux,  or  current;  of 
  particles  [syn:  {disintegrate},  {decompose}] 
  2:  fall  into  decay  or  ruin;  "The  unoccupied  house  started  to 
  decay"  [syn:  {crumble},  {delapidate}] 
  3:  undergo  decay  or  decomposition 
 
  From  Jargon  File  (4.2.3,  23  NOV  2000)  [jargon]: 
 
  decay  n.,vi  [from  nuclear  physics]  An  automatic  conversion  which 
  is  applied  to  most  array-valued  expressions  in  {C};  they  `decay 
  into'  pointer-valued  expressions  pointing  to  the  array's  first  element. 
  This  term  is  borderline  techspeak  but  is  not  used  in  the  official 
  standard  for  the  language. 
 
 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  decay 
 
  [Nuclear  physics]  An  automatic  conversion  which  is  applied  to 
  most  array-valued  expressions  in  {C};  they  "decay  into" 
  pointer-valued  expressions  pointing  to  the  array's  first 
  element.  This  term  is  not  used  in  the  official  standard  for 
  the  language. 
 
  [{Jargon  File}] 
 
 

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