Etymologically
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decadent

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 02:12. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈdɛkədənt/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French décadent,[2][3] a back-formation from décadence,[2][3] so that it corresponds to English decadence.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In a state of decline or decay from a former excellence (1837, in Carlyle).[3][6][4]

Semantic evolution

In 1885 the word was taken up in France by a school of writers who claimed to live in an age of artistic decadence, and in English it was used of them from 1888.[3][6] As a noun it named a member of such a group (1886 in Merriam-Webster; 1889 in Etymonline).[4][3] The word was usually disparaging,[3] but from about 1970 advertisers used it approvingly, especially of rich desserts, for something pleasurably self-indulgent.[3]

Timeline

  • 1837 – in decline or decay.[3][6][4]
  • 1885 – of a French literary school.[6]
  • 1886 – noun, a decadent writer.[4]
  • 1892 – decadently.[6]
  • c1970 – luxuriously self-indulgent, of desserts.[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. In a state of moral or cultural decline.
  2. Marked by or offering unrestrained self-indulgence.
  3. Relating to the Decadents, a group of late-19th-century writers.

Noun

  1. A person in a state of moral decay.
  2. A member of the Decadent movement in literature.

Word family

  • decadently
  • decadence
  • decay
  • cadence
  • effete

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press