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Regarding the Incorrect Use of 'Decimate'
Merriam-Webster ^
| unknown
| Word History
Posted on 11/16/2019 6:32:42 AM PST by Moonman62
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To: Moonman62
Case in point- the “F” word. It has a bunch of different meanings.
21
posted on
11/16/2019 6:59:35 AM PST
by
Lurkina.n.Learnin
(If you want a definition of "bullying" just watch the Democrats in the Senate)
To: Stosh
One of the things I realized later is if one sticks to strict, exactly-literal definition of the word it would essentially have to die out due to lack of usage.
...
Very true. Nobody would use “decimate” anymore.
22
posted on
11/16/2019 7:00:57 AM PST
by
Moonman62
(Charity comes from wealth.)
To: Moonman62
Not one in ten people use decimate properly.
23
posted on
11/16/2019 7:03:02 AM PST
by
null and void
(Convicted spies are shot, traitors are hanged, saboteurs are subject to summary execution...)
To: SoCal Pubbie
You decimate our language.
24
posted on
11/16/2019 7:03:09 AM PST
by
TheNext
(Generation FReeper)
To: Moonman62
Or as Joe Biden would say, literally!
To: TheNext
Improper use of language literally makes my head explode.
26
posted on
11/16/2019 7:03:45 AM PST
by
ClearCase_guy
(If White Privilege is real, why did Elizabeth Warren lie about being an Indian?)
To: Moonman62
If a library looses 1/10 of its books has it been Dewey Decimated?
27
posted on
11/16/2019 7:07:46 AM PST
by
null and void
(Convicted spies are shot, traitors are hanged, saboteurs are subject to summary execution...)
To: dangus
I will use “decimate” for two reasons: it’s correct to do so, and it irritates the Grammar Nazi’s in a big way, even though I agree that “devastate” is a better choice.
28
posted on
11/16/2019 7:10:00 AM PST
by
Moonman62
(Charity comes from wealth.)
To: gundog
29
posted on
11/16/2019 7:10:59 AM PST
by
subterfuge
(RIP T.P.)
To: null and void; All
If the plural of louse is lice and the plural of mouse is mice then the plural of house must be hice.
To: Moonman62
I’m not exactly devastated.
31
posted on
11/16/2019 7:11:54 AM PST
by
dangus
To: Purdue77
"We no longer think of sinister as meaning on the left side, "
That is so gauche...
32
posted on
11/16/2019 7:13:10 AM PST
by
Paladin2
To: Moonman62
Units that lose 10% strength quickly in combat typically drop substantially in effectiveness. So, its a reasonable parallel.
33
posted on
11/16/2019 7:15:07 AM PST
by
Fido969
(In!)
To: Moonman62
We no longer think of sinister as meaning on the left side, But we should.
34
posted on
11/16/2019 7:16:17 AM PST
by
Texas Eagle
(If it wasn't for double-standards, Liberals would be have no standards at all -- Texas Eagle)
To: Purdue77
35
posted on
11/16/2019 7:18:31 AM PST
by
Lee'sGhost
("Just look at the flowers, Lizzie. Just look at the flowers.")
To: Moonman62
Decimate means reduce by any large number, not just 10. Deci means 10, as in our 10 based numbering system. This is the new, corrected meaning, officially declared herein.
Devastate means reduce by a large amount in substance, such as substantial.
Decimate:
Winter will decimate the flowering plants due to frost killing off their numbers.
Devastate:
An earthquake will devastate a town in destructive substance.
Even the Romans did not decimate by 10%. It could have been 8% or 13%, so the true error here is by Merriam Webster with their false assumption. You come here to Free Republic to get the real story.
36
posted on
11/16/2019 7:18:55 AM PST
by
TheNext
(Generation FReeper)
To: raccoonradio
Clearly, I meant loose as in to let go of, not as in misplace.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
I don’t want to be a looser, that would be a stretch...
37
posted on
11/16/2019 7:21:11 AM PST
by
null and void
(Convicted spies are shot, traitors are hanged, saboteurs are subject to summary execution...)
To: sevlex
...or
verbing nouns like "tasking someone with something" or "someone wants to know what the ask is" or someone says they "want to dialogue with you."
38
posted on
11/16/2019 7:23:46 AM PST
by
DoodleBob
(Gravity's waiting period is about 9.8 m/s^s)
To: Moonman62
"Conflagration" used to mean a great fire. Now it is used to denote any large disaster.
"Debt" used to denote a financial obligation. It has been extended to include any obligation, not just those financial.
"Insane" has a very specific legal meaning. Yet it is commonly used to refer to liberals of all stripes.
Words change and expand their meaning by metaphor. To use "decimate" to describe a mass annihilation is perfectly acceptable, and has been for decades.
39
posted on
11/16/2019 7:26:39 AM PST
by
IronJack
To: Moonman62
Pedants unite! But good article. Thank you for posting.
40
posted on
11/16/2019 7:28:42 AM PST
by
NohSpinZone
(First thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers)
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