Putrefy, v. t. [Written also putrify.] [imp. & p. p. Putrefied (; p. pr. & vb. n. Putrefying (.]
Etymology: [F. putréfier; L. putrere to be rotten + -ficare (in. comp.) to make; cf. L. putrefacere. See Putrid, and -fy.]
1. To render putrid; to cause to decay offensively; to cause to be decomposed; to cause to rot.
2. To corrupt; to make foul. Private suits do putrefy the public good. Bacon. They would but stink, and putrefy the air. Shak.
3. To make morbid, carious, or gangrenous; as, to putrefy an ulcer or wound.
1 other Webster entry under this spelling
Putrefy, v. i.
To become putrid; to decay offensively; to rot. Isa. 1. 6.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for putrefy; he lists it under decay.
Where he writes about it:
Putrefy and the adjectives putrid and putrescent, and the nouns putridity and putrescence, are used almost exclusively of animal matter in a state of decomposition, the more general word decay being used of either animal or vegetable substances. — from decay