decadent English · revision 2061

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈdɛkədənt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|décadent]],^(AHD)^(Etymonline) a back-formation from ''décadence'',^(AHD)^(Etymonline) so that it corresponds to English [[decadence]].^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In a state of decline or decay from a former excellence (1837, in Carlyle).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==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.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) As a noun it named a member of such a group (1886 in Merriam-Webster; 1889 in Etymonline).^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline) The word was usually disparaging,^(Etymonline) but from about 1970 advertisers used it approvingly, especially of rich desserts, for something pleasurably self-indulgent.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1837 – in decline or decay.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1885 – of a French literary school.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1886 – noun, a decadent writer.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1892 – ''decadently''.^(OED 1989)

+ * c1970 – luxuriously self-indulgent, of desserts.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # In a state of moral or cultural decline.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Marked by or offering unrestrained self-indulgence.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Relating to the Decadents, a group of late-19th-century writers.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person in a state of moral decay.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A member of the Decadent movement in literature.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[decadently]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[decadence]]

+ * [[decay]]

+ * [[cadence]]

+ * [[effete]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}