decimation









decimation


verb (used with object), dec·i·mat·ed, dec·i·mat·ing.

  1. to destroy a great number or proportion of: The population was decimated by a plague.
  2. to select by lot and kill every tenth person of.
  3. Obsolete. to take a tenth of or from.

verb (tr)

  1. to destroy or kill a large proportion ofa plague decimated the population
  2. (esp in the ancient Roman army) to kill every tenth man of (a mutinous section)
n.

mid-15c., from Late Latin decimationem (nominative decimatio), noun of action from past participle stem of Latin decimare “the removal or destruction of one-tenth,” from decem “ten” (see ten). Earliest sense in English was of a tithe; punishment sense is from 1580s; transferred sense of “much destruction, severe loss” recorded from 1680s.

v.

c.1600, in reference to the practice of punishing mutinous military units by capital execution of one in every 10, by lot; from Latin decimatus, past participle of decimare (see decimation). Killing one in ten, chosen by lots, from a rebellious city or a mutinous army was a common punishment in classical times. The word has been used (incorrectly, to the irritation of pedants) since 1660s for “destroy a large portion of.” Related: Decimated; decimating.

Form : Click Contact Form
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
47 queries 0.549