DECIMATE (one more time)

[James Smith]

I'm getting confused by this discussion.  Is it the
contention of this discussion that "decimate" does not
and never has meant killing one in ten; that such a
concept is totally foreign to the origin of this word
and has been invented in recent times to match the
word with a spurious etymology?

James D. SMITH                 |If history teaches anything
South SLC, UT                  |it is that we will be sued
jsmithjamessmith at yahoo.com     |whether we act quickly and decisively
                               |or slowly and cautiously.


      ____________________________________________________________________________________
Never miss a thing.  Make Yahoo your home page.
http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org