Rotting

noun, verb

noun, verb ·2 syllables ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The process by which something rots.

    "[…] the mould on the boles of the other [trees], that lyes commonly there, and is made of the annual rottings of their own leaves."

  2. 2
    (biology) the process of decay caused by bacterial or fungal action wordnet
  3. 3
    Material that has rotted.

    "From the compost rinds and rottings, from the garbage peels, from the shadows' darkness, darkness, this guttered meal and all its redolence."

Verb
  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of rot form-of, gerund, participle, present

Example

More examples

"The stench of rotting flesh overwhelmed us as we entered the room."

Etymology

From Middle English rotynge (“rotting”), from Old English rotung; equivalent to rot + -ing. Conflated with Middle English rotende, present participle of roten (“to rot”), from Old English rotiende, present participle of rotian (“to rot”).

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