Where does “decadence” come from?
Decadence comes from French décadence, from Medieval Latin decadentia, from Latin decadens, the present participle of decado, derived from cadere meaning to fall, with the prefix de-.
decadence (English): A state of moral or artistic decline or...
Definitions
- A state of moral or artistic decline or...
Ancestry of “decadence”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | décadence | decadence |
| 2 | Medieval Latin | decadentia | decay |
| 3 | Latin | dēcadere | — |
| 4 | Latin | dēcīdō | to fall down or off; collapse; drop, hang down |
| 5 | Latin | dē- | of; from |
| 6 | Latin | dē | of; concerning; about |
| 7 | Latin | post | behind; after, since, besides, except; behind,... |
| 8 | Latin | poste | ablative singular of postis |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | posti | behind, after |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pósti | after |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pós | afterwards, post; by, at |