decimated
UK[ˈdɛsɪmeɪtɪd]US[ˈdɛsəmeɪtɪd]
v
To destroy or kill a large proportion of a group of people or things.
v
(Historical) To kill one in every ten of (a group of soldiers or others) as a punishment for the whole group.
Morpheme Breakdown
decim
ate
ed
decim
tenth
ate
verb suffix
ed
past tense suffix
Etymology
The word "decimated" originates from the Latin verb decimare, which meant "to take a tenth". This term described a brutal Roman military practice of punishing mutinous or cowardly legions by executing one soldier in every ten, chosen by lot. The core morpheme decim- is derived from decem, the Latin word for "ten". Over centuries, the meaning broadened from this specific, proportional punishment to signify any severe, widespread destruction or killing, often losing the strict numerical precision of "one-tenth" in modern usage. This evolution illustrates how a term rooted in a precise historical practice can generalize to convey a powerful sense of large-scale devastation.
Analysis
Structure: decim (tenth) + ate (verb suffix) + ed (past tense suffix)
- decim: From Latin decimus, meaning "tenth".
- ate: A verb-forming suffix from Latin -atus, indicating an action or process.
- ed: An English suffix indicating the past tense or past participle of a verb.
Examples
The population was decimated by the outbreak of a deadly virus.
The company's profits were decimated by the sudden economic downturn.
In ancient Rome, a legion that showed cowardice in battle risked being decimated.