English
rot through
From rot + through.
Proto-Indo-European *Hrewd- ‘to tear’
Proto-Germanic *rutāną ‘to rot’
Proto-West Germanic *rotēn ‘to rot’
Old English rotian ‘to rot, become corrupted, ulcerate, putrefy’
Middle English roten ‘to become toxic or noxious’
English rot
Proto-Indo-European *terh₂- ‘to cross over, pass through’
Proto-Germanic *þurhw ‘through’
Old English þurh ‘through’
Middle English thurgh
English through
Today it means
verb To rot so as to create holes in the substance that's rotting.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “rot through”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / rot through