Decayer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person or thing that is in a state of decline or deterioration due to rot or decomposition
2. An agent or factor that accelerates the process of degeneration in a particular context
3. An individual or object that embodies the act of falling into a worse condition over time

Etymology: "Decayer" is a plain formation: the verb "decay" with the agentive suffix "-er" attached, so it names whatever or whoever decays. The suffix itself has a long pedigree. It descends from a Proto-Indo-European element that moved through Proto-Italic into Latin "-arius", which denoted a person connected with something. From there it passed into Old French as "-ier", and into Middle English as "-er", while the Germanic line reached Old English as "-ere", so English ended up with the same ending arriving by more than one route. The verb at its heart, "decay", came into English from Old French "decair", which itself traces back to a Latin-based root meaning to fall away. That sense of falling from a height or a former condition is what the modern noun preserves: something that has fallen from sound to rotten. The noun is simply the verb's doer, so "decayer" describes the thing that is in the middle of that falling away, whether a tooth, a timber or a reputation.

Synonyms: decomposer, deteriorator, decliner, degenerator

Antonyms: builder, constructor, restorer, preserver