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Decay vs Addle - What's the difference?

decay | addle |

As nouns the difference between decay and addle

is that decay is the process or result of being gradually decomposed while addle is (obsolete) liquid filth; mire or addle can be a foolish or dull-witted fellow.

As verbs the difference between decay and addle

is that decay is to deteriorate, to get worse, to lose strength or health, to decline in quality while addle is (provincial|northern england) to earn, earn by labor; earn money or one's living — or addle can be to make addle; to grow addle; to muddle; as, he addled his brain.

As an adjective addle is

having lost the power of development, and become rotten, as eggs; putrid.

decay

English

(wikipedia decay)

Noun

  • The process or result of being gradually decomposed.
  • * 1895 , H. G. Wells, The Time Machine Chapter X
  • I fancied at first the stuff was paraffin wax, and smashed the jar accordingly. But the odor of camphor was unmistakable. It struck me as singularly odd, that among the universal decay , this volatile substance had chanced to survive, perhaps through many thousand years.
  • A deterioration of condition.
  • Derived terms

    * bacterial decay * decayability * decayable * decayer * orbital decay * particle decay * radioactive decay

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • 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.
  • # (intransitive, electronics, of storage media or the data on them) To undergo , that is, gradual degradation.
  • # (intransitive, computing, of software) To undergo , that is, to fail to be updated in a changing environment,so as to eventually become legacy or obsolete.
  • # (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 .
  • (of organic material) To rot, to go bad.
  • The cat's body decayed rapidly.
  • (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 0-8160-4973-4), page 349:
  • Uranium decays to radium through a long series of steps with a cumulative half-life of 4.4 billion years.
  • (intransitive, transitive, physics, of a quantum system) To undergo , that is, to relax to a less excited state, usually by emitting a photon or phonon.
  • (aviation)
  • To cause to rot or deteriorate.
  • The extreme humidity decayed the wooden sculptures in the museum's collection in a matter of years.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Infirmity, that decays the wise.

    addle

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) addlen, from (etyl) .

    Verb

    (addl)
  • (provincial, Northern England) To earn, earn by labor; earn money or one's living. — .
  • (provincial, Northern England) To thrive or grow; to ripen.
  • :* Kill ivy, else tree will addle no more. – .
  • Etymology 2

    From (etyl) .

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Having lost the power of development, and become rotten, as eggs; putrid.
  • (by extension) Unfruitful]] or confused, as brains; muddled. [[w:John Dryden, John Dryden .
  • addled
  • Derived terms
    * addle-brain * addle-headed * addle-pated * addle plot * addleness * addlepated

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (obsolete) Liquid filth; mire.
  • (provincial) Lees; dregs.
  • (Wright)

    Verb

    (addl)
  • To make addle; to grow addle; to muddle; as, he addled his brain.
  • "Their eggs were addled ." .
  • To cause fertilised eggs to lose viability, by killing the developing embryo within through shaking, piercing, freezing or oiling, without breaking the shell.
  • Noun

    (en noun)
  • A foolish or dull-witted fellow.
  • (Webster 1913)

    Anagrams

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