Etymology, English, Decline
Etymology From Middle English declinen, from Old French decliner, from Latin declinare (“to bend, turn aside, deflect, inflect, decline”), from de (“down”) + clīnō (“I bend, I incline”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- (English lean), reanalyzed root of *ḱléyti, from *ḱel- (“to cover”) + *-éyti (*éy-present suffix). Pronunciation IPA(key): /dɪˈklaɪn/ Hyphenation: de‧cline Noun decline (countable and uncountable, plural declines) Downward movement, fall. A sloping downward, e.g.…