canker

noun cankers

1. countable, uncountable A plant disease marked by gradual decay.

   Similar: avian trichomoniasis, roup, frounce

2. countable, uncountable A region of dead plant tissue caused by such a disease. Slightly sunken brown cankers of variable size and shape affect stem parts primarily below the soil line.
3. countable, uncountable A worm or grub that destroys plant buds or leaves; cankerworm. loathsome canker lives in sweetest bud[…]
4. countable, uncountable A corroding or sloughing ulcer; especially a spreading gangrenous ulcer or collection of ulcers in or about the mouth.

   Similar: water canker, canker of the mouth, noma

5. countable, uncountable Anything which corrodes, corrupts, or destroys. the canker of destitution and violence.
6. countable, uncountable A kind of wild rose; the dog rose. To put down Richard, that ſweet louely Roſe, And plant this thorne, this canker Bullingbrooke?
7. countable, uncountable 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.
8. countable, uncountable An avian disease affecting doves, poultry, parrots and birds of prey, caused by Trichomonas gallinae.
9. Cornwall, countable, rare, uncountable A crab. This Caſtoꝛ liueth by water and lande, he loueth to feede vpon Crabbes and Cankers of the Sea.

verb cankers · cankering · cankered

1. transitive To affect as a canker; to eat away; to corrode; to consume. Still onward winds the dreary way; / I with it; for I long to prove / No lapse of moons can canker Love, / Whatever fickle tongues may say.
2. transitive To infect or pollute; to corrupt.
3. intransitive To waste away, grow rusty, or be oxidized, as a mineral.
4. intransitive To be or become diseased, or as if diseased, with canker; to grow corrupt; to become venomous. as with age his body uglier grows, So his mind cankers.

Similar: encanker