rot

1、rot 三个短字母写透"烂"：水果烂、肉烂、人的品行也能烂（释义"堕落"）；形容词形式 rotten（腐烂的）是它加了古后缀 -en 变来的，一个词根管一串。
2、三个"烂"分场景：rot 指蔬菜水果肉类的分解腐烂；decompose 侧重动物植物内部组织分解导致的腐烂；decay 指由完好状态自然而缓慢地变坏、衰败。
3、读音陷阱：rot 英 /rɒt/ 美 /rɑːt/，别念成 rat（老鼠）/ræt/——rat 的 a 是猫里的 a，rot 的 o 圆嘴。感叹用法 rot! 是骂"胡说、糟了"。

rot 腐烂，腐败

来自古英语 rotian,腐烂，来自 Proto-Germanic*rutona,腐烂，可能进一步来自 PIE*red,撕，咬， 词源同 rodent,rat.

rot

rot: [OE] Rot goes back to a prehistoric Germanic *rutjan, which also produced Dutch rotten. It may be related ultimately to Latin rudis ‘rough’, source of English rude. The adjective rotten [13] was borrowed from Old Norse rotinn, which came from the same Germanic stem as produced *rutjan. The mild imprecation drat [19] is a conflation of God and rot.
=> rude

rot (v.)

Old English rotian "to decay, putrefy," from Proto-Germanic *rutjan (cognates: Old Saxon roton, Old Norse rotna, Old Frisian rotia, Middle Dutch roten, Dutch rotten, Old High German rozzen "to rot," German rößen "to steep flax"), from stem *rut-. Related: Rotted; rotting.

rot (n.)

early 14c., from rot (v.) or of Scandinavian origin (compare Icelandic rot, Swedish röta, Danish røde "decay, putrefaction"), from the root of the verb. Slang noun sense of "rubbish, trash" is from 1848.

1. It took internal whistle-blowing and investigative journalism to uncover the rot.

是内部检举和调查性报道揭露了这一腐败事实。

2. Condensation will eventually cause the fabric of the building to rot away.

冷凝作用将最终使建筑结构腐朽掉。

3. The trees were in bad shape from dry rot.

树木得了干腐病，状况堪忧。

4. Prod the windowsills to check for signs of rot.

戳一戳窗台板看看有没有朽烂的迹象。

5. Rot is eating away the interior of the house.

房子内部正逐渐受到侵蚀。

【rot, decompose, decay】
这组词都有“烂、腐烂”的意思，其区别是：
rot: 指蔬菜水果或肉类的分解、腐烂。
decompose: 侧重指动物或植物类物体由于内部组织的分解而导致的腐烂过程。
decay: 通常指由良好或完美的状态自然而缓慢地变坏或完全变坏腐烂，或部分地毁坏。