this post was submitted on 25 Oct 2024
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[โ€“] Feathercrown@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Using "decimate" to mean "completely destroy" is not a misuse of the word. The word's meaning has simply changed.

[โ€“] pyre@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

exactly. plus it makes sense, there's no reason why decimate can't mean reduce to one tenth.

[โ€“] Hugin@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

It's right there in the word. deci 1/10 mate from matus to remove. It's like expecting half price to mean 1/3 price. We use deci all the time to mean 1/10 Decileter, decimal, etc.

[โ€“] pyre@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

maybe you misread my comment. I already said 1/10.