Decimate

WORD OF THE DAY
decimate / verb / DESS-uh-mayt 
 
Definition
1: to select by lot and kill every tenth man of
2: to exact a tax of 10 percent from
3a: to reduce drastically especially in number
3b: to cause great destruction or harm to


Examples
Budget cuts have decimated public services in many towns and cities throughout the state.


"We must do everything we can to eliminate the diseases that have potential to decimate our population if we do not take action."
— Kacie L. Pauls, The Kansas City (Missouri) Star, 22 Mar. 2018


Did You Know?
The connection between decimate and the number ten harks back to a brutal practice of the army of ancient Rome.
A unit that was guilty of a severe crime (such as mutiny) was punished by the selection and execution of one-tenth of its soldiers, thereby scaring the remaining nine-tenths into obedience. It's no surprise that the word for this practice came from Latin decem, meaning "ten."
From this root we also get our words decimal and decade, as well as December, so named because it was originally the tenth month of the calendar before the addition of January and February.
In its extended uses, decimate strayed from its "tenth" meaning and nowadays refers to the act of destroying or damaging a great quantity or large part of something.