ROT (3)

Rot, n. 1. 1. Process of rotting; decay; putrefaction.
2. 2. (Bot.) A disease or decay in fruits, leaves, or wood, supposed to be caused by minute fungi. See Bitter rot, Black rot, etc., below.
3. 3. [[Cf. G. rotz glanders.]] A fatal distemper which attacks sheep and sometimes other animals. It is due to the presence of a parasitic worm in the liver or gall bladder. See 1st Fluke, 2.
His cattle must of rot and murrain die. Milton. Bitter rot (Bot.), a disease of apples, caused by the fungus Glæosporium fructigenum. F. L. Scribner. — Black rot (Bot.), a disease of grapevines, attacking the leaves and fruit, caused by the fungus Læstadia Bidwellii. F. L. Scribner. — Dry rot (Bot.) See under Dry. — Grinder's rot (Med.) See under Grinder. — Potato rot. (Bot.) See under Potato. — White rot (Bot.), a disease of grapes, first appearing in whitish pustules on the fruit, caused by the fungus Coniothyrium diplodiella. F. L. Scribner.