DECIMATION

decimation

(noun) destroying or killing a large part of the population (literally every tenth person as chosen by lot)

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

decimation (plural decimations)

(strictly) The killing or punishment of every tenth person, usually by lot.

(generally) The killing or destruction of any large portion of a population.

A tithe or the act of tithing.

(mathematics) The creation of a new sequence comprising only every nth element of a source sequence.

(signal processing) A digital signal-processing technique for reducing the number of samples in a discrete-time signal; downsampling

Synonyms

• (the act of killing or punishing each tenth person): tithing

• (the payment of a tenth to the clergy): See tithe

Coordinate terms

• (proportionate reduction, by single aliquot part): quintation (1/5), septimation (1/7), decimation (1/10), vicesimation (1/20), tricesimation (1/30), centesimation (1/100)

Anagrams

• medication

Source: Wiktionary


Dec`i*ma"tion, n. Etym: [L. decimatio: cf. F. décimation.]

1. A tithing. [Obs.] State Trials (1630).

2. A selection of every tenth person by lot, as for punishment. Shak.

3. The destruction of any large proportion, as of people by pestilence or war. Milman.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

30 January 2025

HYPERICISM

(noun) a severe dermatitis of herbivorous domestic animals attributable to photosensitivity from eating Saint John’s wort


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, the largest coffee shop is the Al Masaa Café, which has 1,050 seats. The coffee shop was inaugurated in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 13 August 2014.

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