[at.ro.phy] n, pl -phies [LL atrophia, fr. Gk, fr. atrophos ill fed, fr. a- + trephein to nourish] (1601) 1: decrease in size or wasting away of a body part or tissue; also: arrested development or loss of a part or organ incidental to the normal development or life of an animal or plant
2: a wasting away or progressive decline: degeneration "the ~ of freedom" "was not a solitude of ~, of negation, but of perpetual flowering --Willa Cather" -- atro.phic adj -- atrophy vb