# decimation

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˌdɛsɪˈmeɪʃən/ · frequency rank #62,828

## Definitions
1. The killing or punishment of every tenth person, usually by lot.
2. The killing or destruction of any large portion of a population.
3. A tithe or the act of tithing.
4. The creation of a new sequence comprising only every nth element of a source sequence.
5. The creation of a new sequence comprising only every nth element of a source sequence.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Latin decimātiō, a punishment where every 10th man in a unit would be stoned to death by the men who were spared. Used by the Romans to keep order in their military. Compare septimation and vicesimation.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/decimation