PU'TREFY, verb transitive [Latin putrefacio; putris, putrid, and facio, to make.] 1. To cause to dissolve; to disorganize and reduce to the simple constituent elements, as animal or vegetable bodies; to cause to rot. Heat and moisture soon putrefy dead flesh or vegetables. 2. To corrupt; to make foul; as, to putrefy the air. [Little used.] 3. To make morbid, carious or gangrenous; as, to putrefy an ulcer or wound. PU'TREFY, verb intransitive To dissolve and return to the original distinct elements, as animal and vegetable substances deprived of the living principle; to rot.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI