Re: Types of numerals

Paul Bennett wrote at 2006-01-08 14:54:47 (-0500)
 > On Sun, 08 Jan 2006 14:21:48 -0500, Nomad of Norad -- David C Hall
 > <nomad-conlang@...> wrote:
 >
 > > Hi Thomas (Thomas Hart Chappell), in
 > >> "To decimate smthng" means "to reduce smthng by removing one-tenth of
 > >> it".
 > >
 > > Interesting.  The way I've always seen it used, "decimate" = "destroy,
 > > obliterate"
 >
 > That's the *ahem* descriptivist meaning. The folk-etymology seems have
 > been "to reduce to one tenth", which was then reinterpreted as "to reduce
 > by ten tenths", or something.
 >
 > However, the meaning in the dictionary is indeed "to reduce *by* one
 > tenth". It's related to ancient Greek military practices, as far as I
 > recall. Putting one tenth of captured troops to death, or some such
 > activity.

Roman, not Greek.  And it's not captured troops, but a collective
punishment of one's own forces for mutiny or cowardice.  Obviously an
extremely severe punishment, and it's not difficult to see how it
comes to be used to mean "severely reduce".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimation