Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Cultural Linguistic Buzzwords: The Newest Talking Head Word Is "Decimate"
Urban Dictionary ^

Posted on 11/14/2016 5:53:14 PM PST by Be Careful

Remember when everyone was saying ..."By a Date Certain"?...that was something that Hillary said for some reason that all the libs thought sounded cool....By A Date Certain was EVERYWHERE....

Lately it has been the word "Tranche"....this comes from the Wikileaks Dumps.....everyone thinks it sounds cool.....

But now...All the Talking Heads are using the word "Decimate"....

Decimate is not a synonym of 'Annihilate'.

Per Urban Dictionary:

It means to 'Reduce by One Tenth'

A frequently misused word.

Decimate literally means to reduce something by a tenth, but many people use it instead to mean "totally destroy." The word "obliterate" would be a better choice than "decimate."

Decimate comes from the root "deci-" which can be found in other words involving ten, "decimal" for example.

When I decimated the cookies I ate ten out of the hundred-cookie batch.

Joe decimated the rock collection by getting rid of one tenth of the rocks.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Education
KEYWORDS:
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-30 last
To: Secret Agent Man
FROM WIKIPEDIA:

Decimation (Latin: decimatio; decem = "ten") was a form of military discipline used by senior commanders in the Roman Army to punish units or large groups guilty of capital offences, such as mutiny or desertion. The word decimation is derived from Latin meaning "removal of a tenth".[1] The procedure was a pragmatic attempt to balance the need to punish serious offences with the realities of managing a large group of offenders.[2]

Procedure[edit]

A cohort (roughly 480 soldiers) selected for punishment by decimation was divided into groups of ten. Each group drew lots (sortition), and the soldier on whom the lot fell was executed by his nine comrades, often by stoning or clubbing. The remaining soldiers were often given rations of barley instead of wheat (the latter being the standard soldier's diet) for a few days, and required to camp outside the fortified security of the camp.[3]

Because the punishment fell by lot, all soldiers in a group sentenced to decimation were potentially liable for execution, regardless of individual degrees of fault, rank, or distinction.

Sources[edit]

The earliest documented decimation occurred in 471 BC during the Roman Republic's early wars against the Volsci and is recorded by Livy. In an incident where his army had been scattered, consul Appius Claudius Sabinus Regillensis had the culprits punished for desertion: centurions, standard-bearers and soldiers who had cast away their weapons were individually scourged and beheaded, while of the remainder, one in ten were chosen by lot and executed.[4]

Polybius gives one of the first descriptions of the practice in the early 3rd century BC:

If ever these same things happen to occur among a large group of men... the officers reject the idea of bludgeoning or slaughtering all the men involved [as is the case with a small group or an individual]. Instead they find a solution for the situation which chooses by a lottery system sometimes five, sometimes eight, sometimes twenty of these men, always calculating the number in this group with reference to the whole unit of offenders so that this group forms one-tenth of all those guilty of cowardice. And these men who are chosen by lot are bludgeoned mercilessly in the manner described above.[2]

21 posted on 11/14/2016 6:39:29 PM PST by Fiddlstix (Warning! This Is A Subliminal Tagline! Read it at your own risk!(Presented by TagLines R US))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Be Careful

I do not want Barack Hussein’s legacy decimated - that would allow the communists to keep 90% of the damage inflicted. I want Hussein’s legacy annihilated. I want nothing left of these eight terrible years beyond a crippling debt that our children will be unable to forget and a terrible lesson that I pray they will never forget.


22 posted on 11/14/2016 6:43:47 PM PST by Pollster1 ("Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Be Careful

The next time some idiot tells me he was decimated ( probably intending to say “devastated”) I’ll ask him which 10% he’s missing....

:)


23 posted on 11/14/2016 6:47:38 PM PST by clintonh8r (AMERICA! THANK YOU FOR MAKING MY SCREEN NAME OBSOLETE!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Gay State Conservative
So everyone’s gotten the memo?

Hmmmm...let me see, get the check from Soros, use the word/concept 'compromise' for ANYTHING relating to Trump, "decimate",...AND wear purple...CHECK!!!

24 posted on 11/14/2016 6:55:46 PM PST by Stand Watch Listen (ELITE IMMUNITY: how the puppetmasters / puppets continue to function)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

If you've watched any news shows since Tuesday the liberal talking head mynah bird phrase is "sexist, racist, xenophobic Trump..."
25 posted on 11/14/2016 6:56:51 PM PST by Henchster (Free Republic - the BEST site on the web!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Be Careful

Decimate was a practice done by the Roman Army when they didn’t do well in battle and they needed to be disciplined to do better the next time. Every tenth man was put to death, hence the troops were decimated.


26 posted on 11/14/2016 6:57:50 PM PST by BuffaloJack (Own a rifle. Be an American.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Be Careful
what word is good instead of "decimate" because even though its not the proper use of the word, it sure sounds powerful....

The snowflakes were DECIMATED by the Trump win, poor dears.

27 posted on 11/14/2016 6:59:17 PM PST by cherry
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Be Careful

http://militaryhistorynow.com/2014/02/26/no-safety-in-numbers-a-brief-history-of-decimation/

Decimate

While the term today is generally equated with a massive defeat, the Latin word decimation actually means “the removal of a tenth”.

In the age of the Roman legions, army units that mutinied, fled in the face of the enemy or under-performed in combat could be singled out for group punishment in the form of decimation.

Under such a sentence, a body of troops would be divided into sections of 10 men. One soldier from each group would be chosen at random, usually through a lottery. The unlucky infantryman would then to be beaten to death by his comrades. The sentences were carried out immediately regardless of the victim’s rank, reputation or even involvement in the transgression in question. The fatal blows were typically with clubs — a practice the Romans called fustuarium.
A lethal beating in the Roman Legion was called a ‘fustuarium’.


28 posted on 11/14/2016 7:07:48 PM PST by BwanaNdege
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Be Careful

I keep seeing “bigly” - which sounds really stupid.


29 posted on 11/14/2016 7:14:38 PM PST by Some Fat Guy in L.A. (Still bitterly clinging to rational thought despite it's unfashionability)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Some Fat Guy in L.A.

I guess Trump used it...it sounds odd to me too. The reference below says that it is the adverbial form of big (with some examples).

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/bigly


30 posted on 11/14/2016 11:49:29 PM PST by deks
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-30 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson