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dec·i·mate Pronunciation (ds-mt)

tr.v. dec·i·mat·ed, dec·i·mat·ing, dec·i·mates

1. To destroy or kill a large part of (a group).

2. Usage Problem

a. To inflict great destruction or damage on: The fawns decimated my rose bushes.

b. To reduce markedly in amount: a profligate heir who decimated his trust fund.

3. To select by lot and kill one in every ten of.

decimate /dessimayt/ • verb

1 kill or destroy a large proportion of.

2 drastically reduce the strength of.

dec·i·mate

Pronunciation: 'de-s&-"mAt

Function: transitive verb

Inflected Form(s): -mat·ed; -mat·ing

Etymology: Latin decimatus, past participle of decimare, from decimus tenth, from decem ten

1 : to select by lot and kill every tenth man of

2 : to exact a tax of 10 percent from <poor as a decimated Cavalier -- John Dryden>

3

a : to reduce drastically especially in number <cholera decimated the population>

b : to cause great destruction or harm to <firebombs decimated the city> <an industry decimated by recession>

The word was originally coined to mean "one-in-ten" but the usage seemed to deviate from this original meaning around 1663 to mean more than "one-in-ten" and is now reflected as such by our modern dictionaries:

decimation

 

1549, from L.L. decimationem, from L. decimare "the removal or destruction of one-tenth," from decem "ten." Killing one in ten, chosen by lots, from a rebellious city or a mutinous army was a common punishment in classical times. Earliest sense in Eng. was of a tithe; decimate has been used (incorrectly, to the irritation of pedants) since 1663 for "destroy a large portion of."