2. Anything which corrodes, corrupts, or destroy.
The cankers of envy and faction. --Temple.
3. (Hort.) A disease incident to trees, causing the bark to
rot and fall off.
4. (Far.) 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.
5. A kind of wild, worthless rose; the dog-rose.
To put down Richard, that sweet lovely rose. And
plant this thorm, this canker, Bolingbroke. --Shak.
{Black canker}. See under {Black}.
No lapse of moons can canker Love. --Tennyson.
2. To infect or pollute; to corrupt. --Addison.
A tithe purloined cankers the whole estate.
--Herbert.
Silvering will sully and canker more than gliding.
--Bacom.
2. To be or become diseased, or as if diseased, with canker;
to grow corrupt; to become venomous.
Deceit and cankered malice. --Dryden.
As with age his body uglier grows, So his mind
cankers. --Shak.