decimate

[Eric Nielsen]

Precision was probably too exacting a word to use. You're right: it would be
ridiculous to have a word for every percentage of lives lost--unless you
were in a culture where that was somehow important. And if decimal places
were allowed....

I learned the every tenth man etymology from a Latin professor years ago;
but she was illustrating how the different words we have to describe
destruction and loss of life have degrees of intensity attached and carry
connotational baggage. She pointed out that originally decimate was not
used to describe a complete loss of lives--as it sometimes is today. To
describe complete loss of life there are better choices to this old fogey.
Decimate seems too mild to describe Custer's massacre, annihilation, and
utter obliteration. .

And then, there is "pulverize" which is often used  to describe a treatment
much less severe than being completely reduced to dust.

Eric


On Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 2:20 PM, David A. Daniel <dad at pokerwiz.com> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "David A. Daniel" <dad at POKERWIZ.COM>
> Subject:      Re: decimate
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Well, actually, since it is no longer common practice in most modern armies
> to punish the troops by executing every tenth man, I can't really think of
> a
> practical use for decimate other than to describe some kind of serious,
> though perhaps unquantifiable, destruction or carnage. I suppose I could
> make sure that a tenth of something, no more no less, had been destroyed
> (like a tenth of the trees in a forest, destroyed by fire, for example) so
> as not to risk imprecise use of the term but, knowing myself, I'll probably
> just blunder ahead without spending the time or energy to make an accurate
> count. Besides, were I to make an accurate count I might find that 12%, or
> maybe only 9%, of something had been destroyed and then I would be without
> a
> term to describe the destruction. (duodecimate, novemate? nah)
> DAD
>
>
> If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
> Of
> Eric Nielsen
> Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 1:59 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: decimate
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---
>
> I know I can't fight the current usage. Still, I am at least a little
> saddened to see the precision lost when decimate and annihilate become
> interchangeable.
>
> Eric
>
>
>
>
> >
> > On Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 3:09 PM, Jonathan Lighter
> > <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
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> > > Sender: =C2  =C2  =C2  American Dialect Society <
> ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU=
> >
> > > Poster: =C2  =C2  =C2  Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > > Subject: =C2  =C2  =C2 Re: decimate
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ------
> > >
> > > Now it's moved all the way to "annihilate; wipe out":
> > >
> > > 2008 Herman J. Viola _Warriors in Uniform_ (Washington, D.C.: National
> > > Geographic) 52: The decimation at the Little Big Horn could have been
> > > averted had Custer heeded the advice of his Crow scouts.
> > >
> > > JL
> >
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