Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Putrefaction

Pu′tre·fac′tion (pū′trē·făk′shŭn), n. [L. putrefactio: cf. F. putréfaction. See Putrefy.] 1. The act or the process of putrefying; the offensive decay of albuminous or other matter.

☞ Putrefaction is a complex phenomenon involving a multiplicity of chemical reactions, always accompanied by, and without doubt caused by, bacteria and vibriones; hence, putrefaction is a form of fermentation, and is sometimes called putrefaction fermentative. Putrefaction is not possible under conditions that preclude the development of living organisms. Many of the products of putrefaction are powerful poisons, and are called cadaveric poisons, or ptomaïnes.

2. The condition of being putrefied; also, that which putrefied. "Putrefaction's breath." Shelley.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty.