degenerate
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From Latin degeneratus, past participle of degenerare (“to degenerate”), from degener (“ignoble”), from de (“from, down”) + genus (“race, kind”); see genus, general.
[edit] Adjective
degenerate (comparative more degenerate, superlative most degenerate)
- (of qualities) having deteriorated, degraded or fallen from normal, coherent, balanced and desirable to an undesirable and typically abnormal
- (of a human or system) having lost good or desirable qualities
- (of an encoding or function) having multiple domain elements correspond to one element of the range
- The genetic code is degenerate because a single amino acid can be coded by one of several codons.
- (mathematics) a degenerate case is a limiting case in which a class of object changes its nature so as to belong to another, usually simpler, class.
- (physics) Having the same quantum energy level
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
having deteriorated, degraded or fallen from normal
having multiple domain elements correspond to one element of the range
[edit] Noun
degenerate (plural degenerates)
- One is degenerate, who has fallen from previous stature.
- You are a degenerate, boy. You're a disgrace to your ancestors.
[edit] Translations
one is degenerate, who has fallen from previous stature
[edit] Verb
degenerate (third-person singular simple present degenerates, present participle degenerating, simple past and past participle degenerated)
- (intransitive) (of humans or systems) to lose good or desirable qualities;
- His condition continued to degenerate even after admission to hospital.
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
to lose good or desirable qualities
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[edit] External links
- degenerate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- degenerate in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
[edit] Italian
[edit] Adjective
degenerate f.
- Feminine plural form of degenerato
[edit] Noun
degenerate f.
- Plural form of degenerata.
[edit] Verb
degenerate
- second-person plural present indicative of degenerare
- second-person plural imperative of degenerare
- Feminine plural of degenerato
[edit] Latin
[edit] Verb
dēgenerāte
- second-person plural present active imperative of dēgenerō
