n. | 1. | |
| 1. | A corroding or sloughing ulcer; esp. a spreading gangrenous ulcer or collection of ulcers in or about the mouth; - called also water canker, canker of the mouth, and noma. |
| 2. | Anything which corrodes, corrupts, or destroy. |
| 3. | (Hort.) A disease incident to trees, causing the bark to rot and fall off. |
| 4. | (Far.) An obstinate and often incurable disease of a horse's foot, characterized by separation of the horny portion and the development of fungoid growths; - usually resulting from neglected thrush. |
| 5. | A kind of wild, worthless rose; the dog-rose. |
v. t. | 1. | To affect as a canker; to eat away; to corrode; to consume. |
| 2. | To infect or pollute; to corrupt. |
v. i. | 1. | To waste away, grow rusty, or be oxidized, as a mineral. |
| 2. | To be or become diseased, or as if diseased, with canker; to grow corrupt; to become venomous. |