Dictionaries I consulted list "kill every 10th person" as a second or third meaning for the word decimate, with the first meaning more generally to "destroy a great number or proportion of". The usage note from the American Heritage Dictionary (online, 4th edition, 2006) reads: "Decimate originally referred to the killing of every tenth person, a punishment used in the Roman army for mutinous legions. Today this meaning is commonly extended to include the killing of any large proportion of a group. Sixty-six percent of the Usage Panel accepts this extension in the sentence The Jewish population of Germany was decimated by the war, even though it is common knowledge that the number of Jews killed was much greater than a tenth of the original population. However, when the meaning is further extended to include large-scale destruction other than killing, as in The supply of fresh produce was decimated by the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, only 26 percent of the Panel accepts the usage." R. Michael Medley, Ph.D. Director, Intensive English Program and Professor of English Eastern Mennonite University 1200 Park Rd. Harrisonburg, VA 22802 Office: (540) 432-4051 Fax: (540) 432-4444 Home: (540) 574-4277 [log in to unmask] ************************************************* It is one thing to say with the prophet Amos, “Let justice roll down like mighty waters,” and quite another to work out the irrigation system. Clearly there is more certainty in the recognition of wrongs than there is in the prescription for their cure. --William Sloane Coffin To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/