decline

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   show unwillingness towards

   I declined to join the group on a hike.

2. 2
   verb

   go down

   The roof declines here

3. 3
   noun

   Downward movement, fall.

   The aircraft went into a sudden decline before the pilot regained control.

4. 4
   noun

   A sloping downward, e.g. of a hill or road.

   After taking a right from that turn a decline will come into view.

5. 5
   noun

   A deterioration of condition; a weakening or worsening.

   He has experienced a sudden decline in his health.

6. 6
   noun

   A reduction or diminution of activity, prevalence or quantity.

   Population decline is a major concern.

7. 7
   noun

   The act of declining or refusing something.

   The issuing bank only checks the consumer's credit card number for authorization. […] Soft declines are those declines in which the bank requires further verification.

8. 8
   verb

   To move downwards, to fall, to drop.

   The dollar has declined rapidly since 2001.

Etymology

From Middle English declinen, and ultimately Latin declīnō (“to bend, turn aside, deflect, inflect, decline”, from dē- (“down”) + clīnō (“to bend, to incline”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- (English lean). The senses arrived from two separate pathways in Middle English: * The grammatical sense came from Old English declīnian, which was borrowed directly from the Latin etymon. * All senses except the grammatical sense were derived from those of Old French decliner. Old French itself borrowed the verb from Latin.