slowly breaking down and rotting, as when organic matter decomposes into simpler substances.
From French 'decair' and Latin 'decadere' meaning 'to fall down,' used to describe the physical breakdown of things over time.
Decay is actually essential for life on Earth—without bacteria and fungi breaking down dead stuff, all our nutrients would just be locked up in corpses and nothing could grow, which is kind of gross but also pretty amazing.
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