(v. i.) To undergo a process common to organic substances by which
they lose the cohesion of their parts and pass through certain chemical
changes, giving off usually in some stages of the process more or less
offensive odors; to become decomposed by a natural process; to putrefy;
to decay.
(v. i.) Figuratively: To perish slowly; to decay; to die; to become
corrupt.
(v. t.) To make putrid; to cause to be wholly or partially
decomposed by natural processes; as, to rot vegetable fiber.
(v. t.) To expose, as flax, to a process of maceration, etc., for
the purpose of separating the fiber; to ret.
(n.) Process of rotting; decay; putrefaction.
(n.) A disease or decay in fruits, leaves, or wood, supposed to be
caused by minute fungi. See Bitter rot, Black rot, etc., below.
(n.) A fatal distemper which attacks sheep and sometimes other
animals. It is due to the presence of a parasitic worm in the liver or
gall bladder. See 1st Fluke, 2.
