c. 1400, from Old French putrefaction (14c.), from Latin putrefactionem (nominative putrefactio), noun of action from past-participle stem of putrefacere "to make rotten," from putrere "to be rotten" (see putrid) + facere "to make, do" (from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put").
Rome had fallen into moral putrefaction
put
putative
put-down
put-on
put-put
putrefaction
putrefy
putrescence
putrescent
putrid
putridity