red rot

noun

1. Plant Pathology. any of several fungal diseases of sugarcane, sorgo, and some trees, characterized by a red discoloration within the affected stalks.

Word History and Origins

Origin of red rot¹

First recorded in 1590–1600

Example Sentences

People who handle rare books for a living are used to doing battle with a range of dastardly scourges, including red rot, beetles and thieves.

From New York Times

I still own those books, even though their spines have slowly crumbled away, such deterioration — called red rot — being sadly typical of the 11th’s aging leather.

From Washington Post

Denis Boyles doesn’t mention red rot or, for that matter, the minuscule type of the smaller-size cloth-bound edition of the 11th, but “Everything Explained That Is Explainable” doesn’t overlook much else.

From Washington Post

Or maybe they are like a gateway drug for permanent images that look like red rot on your chompers.

From Salon

Hermann von Schrenck, The "Bluing" and "Red Rot" of the Western Yellow Pine, 1903.

From Project Gutenberg