degenerate

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Wikipedia

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Adjective 1.2.1 Derived terms 1.2.2 Translations 1.3 Noun 1.4 Verb 1.4.1 Derived terms 1.4.2 Translations 1.5 External links 2 Italian 2.1 Adjective 2.2 Noun 2.3 Verb

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

< Latin degeneratus, pp. of degenerare (“‘to degenerate’”) < degener (“‘ignoble’”) < de (“‘from, down’”) + genus (“‘race, kind’”); see genus, general.

[edit] Adjective

degenerate (comparative more degenerate, superlative most degenerate)

1. (of qualities) having deteriorated, degraded or fallen from normal, coherent, balanced and desirable to an undesirable and typically abnormal
2. (of a human or system) having lost good or desirable qualities
3. (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.

4. (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.

[edit] Derived terms

• (physics) degenerate matter

[edit] Translations

[edit] Noun

degenerate (plural degenerates)

1. One is degenerate, who has fallen from previous stature.

   You are a degenerate, boy. You're a disgrace to your ancestors.

[edit] Verb

to degenerate (third-person singular simple present degenerates, present participle degenerating, simple past and past participle degenerated)

1. (intransitive) (of humans or systems) to lose good or desirable qualities;

   His condition continued to degenerate even after admission to hospital.

[edit] Derived terms

• degeneration

[edit] Translations

[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

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[edit] Italian

[edit] Adjective

degenerate f.

1. Feminine plural form of degenerato

[edit] Noun

degenerate f.

1. Plural form of degenerata.

[edit] Verb

degenerate

1. Second-person plural present tense of degenerare.
2. Second-person plural imperative of degenerare.
3. Feminine plural of degenerato.