Caducities

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality or state of being transient or prone to decay and decline
2. Referring to the impermanence of worldly things and the inevitability of change over time
3. Acknowledging the inherent temporary nature of life and material possessions

Etymology: "Caducities" is the plural of "caducity," a noun that came into English from French "caducité." The French form in turn descends from Latin "caducus," meaning "falling" or "liable to fall," built on the verb "cadere," "to fall." That physical sense of something dropping or collapsing is the root of the term's later meaning: in English, the abstract idea of things that are fragile or bound to pass away. The English word "caducous" shares this ancestry and was used earlier in botany, where it described plant parts, such as leaves or petals, that drop off early. The move from falling leaves to fallen empires is a short step, and "caducity" carries that image of decay into broader reflections on mortality and transience. The plural form, "caducities," is used for the separate instances of such passing qualities, as in discussions of the many frailties of human life.