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[-] Feathercrown@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago

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

[-] pyre@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago

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

[-] Hugin@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago

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.

[-] pyre@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago

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

this post was submitted on 25 Oct 2024
158 points (100.0% liked)

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