decimate
Use Decimate in a sentence
əˌmeɪt 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.
Origin:
1590–1600; < Latin decimātus, past participle of decimāre to punish every tenth man chosen by lot, verbal derivative of decimus tenth, derivative of decem ten; see -ate1
1590–1600; < Latin decimātus, past participle of decimāre to punish every tenth man chosen by lot, verbal derivative of decimus tenth, derivative of decem ten; see -ate1
Related forms
dec·i·ma·tion, noun
dec·i·ma·tor, noun
Can be confused: decimal, decimate, destroy (see usage note at the current entry)(see synonym study at destroy).
Usage note
The earliest English sense of decimate is “to select by lot and execute every tenth soldier of (a unit).” The extended sense “destroy a great number or proportion of” developed in the 19th century: Cholera decimated the urban population. Because the etymological sense of one-tenth remains to some extent, decimate is not ordinarily used with exact fractions or percentages: Drought has destroyed (not decimated) nearly 80 percent of the cattle.
The earliest English sense of decimate is “to select by lot and execute every tenth soldier of (a unit).” The extended sense “destroy a great number or proportion of” developed in the 19th century: Cholera decimated the urban population. Because the etymological sense of one-tenth remains to some extent, decimate is not ordinarily used with exact fractions or percentages: Drought has destroyed (not decimated) nearly 80 percent of the cattle.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To decimate
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Decimate
is a GRE word you need to know.
So is decapod. Does it mean:
| crustacean of the order Decapoda, having five pairs of legs |
| a person, esp. an orator or political leader, who gains power and popularity by arousing the emotions, passions, and prejudices of the people. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
decimate (ˈdɛsɪˌmeɪt) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to destroy or kill a large proportion of: a plague decimated the population |
| 2. | (esp in the ancient Roman army) to kill every tenth man of (a mutinous section) |
| [C17: from Latin decimāre, from decimus tenth, from decem ten] | |
| usage One talks about the whole of something being decimated, not a part: disease decimated the population, not disease decimated most of the population | |
| deci'mation | |
| —n | |
| 'decimator | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
decimate
c.1600, in reference to the practice of punishing mutinous military units by capital execution of one in every 10, by lot; from L. decimare "to take the tenth," from decimus "tenth" (see decimation). It has been used (incorrectly, to the irritation of pedants) since 1660s
for "destroy a large portion of." Related: Decimated (c.1600); decimating (1660s).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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