decimate
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decimate
- /ˈdɛsɪmeɪt/ UK
- /ˈdɛsəmeɪt/ US
Where it comes from
The verb is first attested in 1591, the noun in 1641; borrowed from Latin decimātus, perfect passive participle of decimō (“to kill one tenth; to tithe”) (see, from -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix)), from decimus (“tenth”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). As a noun, via Latin decimatus (“tithing area; tithing rights”).
verb decimates · decimating · decimated
-
To kill one-tenth of (a group), (historical, specifically) as a military punishment in the Roman army selected by lot, usually carried out by the surviving soldiers.
God sometimes decimates or tithes delinquent persons, and they died for a common crime, according as God hath cast their lot in the decrees of predestination.
Similar: tithe
- To destroy or remove one-tenth of (something). ...there will be eight hundred and ten laborers producing as nine hundred, while, to accomplish their purpose, they would have to produce as one thousand... Here, then, we have a society which is continually decimating itself...
- To devastate: to reduce or destroy significantly but not completely. [England] had decimated itself for a question which involved no principle, and led to no result.
- To exact a tithe or other 10% tax. You forge theſe things prettily; but I have heard you are as poor as a decimated Cavalier [referring to Cromwell's ten per cent. income-tax on Cavaliers], and had not one foot of land in all the vvorld.
- To tithe: to pay a 10% tax. [I]t is a deed of higheſt charitie to help undeceive the people, and a vvork vvorthieſt your autoritie, in all things els authors, aſſertors and novv recoverers of our libertie, to deliver us, the only people of all Proteſtants left ſtill undeliverd, from the oppreſſions of a Simonious decimating cl
- To divide into tenths; to decimalize. For example, in multiplying 3 by 0.2, the 3 units have to be decimated—that is, divided into 10 equal parts, obtaining 3 “deci-units” for each part, and then 2 such parts taken, giving as the answer 6 deci-units, or 0.6.
- To reduce to one-tenth: to destroy or remove nine-tenths of (something). In this dramatic picture, the nation is literally decimated, and even the tenth which remains is subjected to a further destruction.
- To replace (a high-resolution model) with another of lower but acceptable quality. (Usually algorithmically) A decimate tool allows us to obtain a more coarse-grained view of the data over the full n-dimensional space.
noun decimates
- A tithe or other 10% tax or payment.
- A tenth of something.
- A set of ten items.
Translations
Every language
verb to severely reduce
| Español | diezmar |
|---|---|
| Português | dizimar |
| Русский | истребля́ть istrebljátʹ, опустошать opustošatʹ |
verb Roman history: to kill one out of ten men
| 中文 | 十一抽杀 |
|---|---|
| Português | dizimar |
| Français | décimer |
| Deutsch | dezimieren |
| Italiano | decimare |
| Ελληνικά | αποδεκατίζω apodekatízo |
verb to devastate: to reduce or destroy significantly but not completely
| Deutsch | verheeren, übel zurichten, zugrunde richten |
|---|
verb to reduce to one-tenth
| Español | diezmar |
|---|
Talk about this word "decimate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/decimate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. decimate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/decimate "decimate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/decimate.Cite this
@misc{decimate_2026,
title = {decimate},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/decimate},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
