Where Does Deteriorate Come from?

Where Does Deteriorate Come from?

deteriorate (v.)
1640s, transitive, "make worse, reduce in quality," from Late Latin deterioratus, past participle of deteriorare "get worse; make worse," from Latin deterior "worse, lower, inferior, meaner," contrastive of *deter "bad, lower," from PIE *de-tero-, from demonstrative stem *de- (see de).

What does deterioration mean?

: the action or process of becoming impaired or inferior in quality, functioning, or condition : the state of having deteriorated rust deterioration the deterioration of academic standards.

What happens when something deteriorates?

When something gets worse due to neglect or an unfortunate health problem, stuff starts to deteriorate — or fall apart. The word deteriorate describes anytime something gets worse. Due to neglect, a relationship can deteriorate but so can the American highway system.

Alexander Ross
Author

Alexander Ross

Alexander Ross has covered the video game industry for a decade, writing deep dives on game design, esports tournaments, VR developments, and gaming culture.