"you've decimated it!" I cried.
"Decimated it?" asked he, with a look of undisguised I've-got-her-now glee. "What do you think decimated means?"
It was then that I realised the truffle gift was nothing compared with what I had just done. This was the real gift!
I had thought that 'to decimate' meant to destroy, particularly when something is reduced to small pieces. However, knowing that he knew something I didn't, I had a go. Decimate - decimal... I ventured that perhaps it meant to divide by 10.
Nearly. According to my truffling companion, the word comes from a Roman military practice. If a legion was lacking in discipline, the rulers would kill one in every 10 of the soldiers. This restored order, apparently.
But that's not the end of the story. Reunited with my OED this morning, I discovered it wasn't quite so simple.
Decimate:So I was wrong-ish, but not far off. I had meant to convey that he had shattered the truffle, rather than killed or totally destroyed it. And he was right, but labelled a 'traditionalist'.Usage:
- kill, destroy, or remove a large proportion of. Drastically reduce the strength or effectiveness of.
- (historical) kill one in every 10 of (a group of people) as a punishment for the whole group.
Historically, the meaning of the word decimate is 'kill one in every ten of (a group of people)'. This sense has been more or less totally superseded by the later, more general sense 'kill or destroy (a large proportion of)', as in the virus has decimated the population. Some traditionalists argue that this and other later senses are incorrect, but it is clear that this is now part of standard English.
Ah, sweet romance.
well, it seems to me that a word like 'decimate', which has an explicit numerical factor, ought to stay meaning what it means. Using it in a general sense merely betrays the ignorance of the 'decem' bit.
ReplyDeleteWhat next? Decade = a bunch of years? and so on ...
ha, you can call me a traditionalist too - but tradition ain't all bad (though the practice which led to the word decimate might well be considered beyond the pale, or is it pail?)
I have, however, heard that montezuma, for all his talk of revenge, does make rather fine chocolate ...
Funny, we've just been talking about pail and pail. Just editing a feature that includes the observation:
ReplyDeleteWhile [someone] agrees that some of the amounts levied against shoplifters may seem excessive, they pail when compared with retailer’s bills for policing stores.
oops.
ReplyDeletebeyond the pail, I think (the pail being some dublin-related ditch or boundary, if memory serves), but somethings definitely pale into insignificance ...
I think it's beyond the pale - seem to recall a Jewish meaning, and yes, something to do with boundaries. I will check!!
ReplyDeleteAh, I bow to your superior obscure fact retention!
ReplyDeleteHow refreshing to observe an intellectual's stance on St Valentine's Day and how far removed it is from the mushy, meaningless drivel modern society (or rather those who seek to gain from the majority sense of guilt that unless a forced red rose and box of mass produced chocolates is given to one's loved one from the garage on the way home from work then all is lost and never really forgiven for the following year) puts forth on this 'special' day, and what a ridiculously long sentence this is ...
ReplyDelete