Decline Definition
dĭ-klīn
declined, declines, declining
verb
declined, declines, declining
To refuse, esp. in a formally polite way.
I must decline your offer.
Webster's New World
To bend, turn, or slope downward or aside.
Webster's New World
To bend downward; droop.
Boughs declining toward the ground.
American Heritage
To approach the end; wane.
The day is declining.
Webster's New World
To sink, as the setting sun.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
noun
declines
The process or result of declining, especially:
American Heritage
A declining or becoming less, smaller, etc.; decay.
Webster's New World
A failing of health, etc.
Webster's New World
A period of decline.
Webster's New World
The last part.
The decline of life.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
Origin of Decline
-
From Middle English declinen, from Old French decliner, from Latin declinare (“to bend, turn aside, deflect, inflect, decline”), from de (“down”) + clīnō (“I bend, I incline”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- (English lean).
From Wiktionary
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Middle English declinen from Old French decliner from Latin dēclīnāre to turn away, bend downward, change the form of a word dē- de- -clīnāre to lean, bend klei- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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