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A.Word.A.Day--decimate![]() ![]() decimate (DES-i-mayt) verb tr. 1. To destroy a large number of (a group). 2. To kill every tenth person. [From Latin decimatus, past participle of decimare, from decimus (tenth), from decem (ten). Decimation -- killing one out of every ten soldiers -- was the favorite method of punishing mutinous legions in the ancient Roman army. Today the word has evolved to mean large-scale damage where a major proportion is annihilated.]
"Workers are collecting the few scraps of uniforms -- in one case, a
nearly complete military hat -- to be analyzed for parasites. DNA
analysis may help resolve whether a strain of typhus borne by lice
helped decimate the troops."
"Winter grain crops across the state have been decimated by the
conditions, with little relief expected and hopes now pinned on summer
crops." This week's theme: words that have changed meaning with time.
X-BonusIn a perfect union the man and woman are like a strung bow. Who is to say whether the string bends the bow, or the bow tightens the string? -Cyril Connolly, critic and editor (1903-1974) |
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