Rot, n. 1. Process of rotting; decay; putrefaction.
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. [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.