Decadence

Decadent. Decadence. Decade. Do you get to be decadent every ten years? Or only for ten years? What does the word decadence have to do with the word decade? Nothing, as it turns out.
 
The word decadence has its origins in the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root kad (to fall) and Latin decadere (to decay); i.e., Latin de- (apart, down) + Latin cadere (to fall). To decay is to fall down.
 
In the 1540s, the word decadence appeared in English meaning decay or a deteriorated condition. The use of decadence to mean the process of falling away from a better or more vital state is from the 1620s.
 
In 1837, the term decadent was defined as a state of decline or decay from a former condition of excellence.
 
The word decadence has been used since 1852 to describe various periods of art. That is to say, decadent art is a falling away from traditional ways of doing art and from traditional subjects for art. The Tate Gallery of Modern Art in London uses the term decadence to describe a late 19th century style of art which emphasizes or over-emphasizes the spiritual, the morbid, and the erotic (an interesting mix of subject matter)!
 
The term decadent was used in the 1970s to describe desserts which appealed to the sense of satisfying a person’s self-indulgence. Today, the words decadent and decadence refer not only to decline and decay but to this sense of over-the-top self-indulgence.
 
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/d/decadence
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