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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Degenerate \De*gen"er*ate\, verb (used without an object) [imp. & p. p. {Degenerated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Degenerating}.]
1. To be or grow worse than one's kind, or than one was originally; hence, to be inferior; to grow poorer, meaner, or more vicious; to decline in good qualities; to deteriorate.
When wit transgresseth decency, it degenerates into insolence and impiety. --Tillotson.
2. (Biol.) To fall off from the normal quality or the healthy structure of its kind; to become of a lower type.
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