[econjack]

I doubt if most people care enough to notice. Another word that is abused often is decimate. Most people assume it means total destruction when it really means to destroy every tenth item. It has Roman origins and, if a squad of soldiers were observed to behave in a cowardly manner, every tenth man was killed, so the squad was said to be decimated. However, it's been screwed up for so long, its meaning is slowly changing...and don't even get me started on confusing then and than. How sad...

[SoCal Pubbie]

The old complaint about the word “decimate” comes up often here. But the English language is a living one, it’s not Latin. The meaning of words and conventions change over time. “Font” and “typeface” were not the same thing originally, but they’re used interchangibly today. A “logo” and a “trademark” were different but now pretty much mean the same. “Lynchpin,” “ Vellum,” “Triumph” all had specific meanings that, like “decimate,” have morphed over time. Likewise, in 1933 “tomorrow” was spelled “to-morrow.”