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Meanings shift with time. The original meant that (doled out as a very harsh collective punishment by the Romans: groups of 10 would draw straws and be forced t
by rcxdude 2y ago
Meanings shift with time. The original meant that (doled out as a very harsh collective punishment by the Romans: groups of 10 would draw straws and be forced to kill the one who draw the short straw). Now it's meanining is more along the lines of 'severely reduced', where how much is 'severely' depends on the context.
- NilMostChill 2y agoindeed, this particular one though has the added complication of having part of it's meaning contained in the composition of the word. It's usage is still changing, obviously , but for me it's a more difficult transition because of the 'deci'
- saghm 2y agoI think this one is already past the past the inflection point, to be honest. I see people using the word with the new meaning far more than the old one; hell, I see people complaining about how the word is used more than I see it used for the original meaning. My take is that the original meaning is so narrow that it's almost inevitable that any more broad usage that appeared would overtake it to the point of drowning out the original.
- ianburrell 2y agoMeanings shift quickly. Decimate was first introduced circa 1600 from Latin to mean "destroy every tenth". By 1660, it started to mean "destroy large number".
- indoordin0saur 2y agoThe word is from 'decimatio' which appears in original Roman histories written well before 1600.