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Jump to navigationJump to searchCreated page with 'File:lighterstill.jpgright|frame ==Etymology== Latin decimatus, past participle of decimare, from decimus tenth, from decem ten *Date: [http:...'
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==Etymology==
[[Latin]] decimatus, past participle of decimare, from decimus tenth, from decem ten
*Date: [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/17th_Century 1660]
==Definitions==
*1 : to select by lot and kill every tenth man of
*2 : to exact a tax of 10 percent from <poor as a decimated Cavalier — John Dryden>
*3 a : to reduce drastically especially in number <cholera decimated the population> b : to cause great destruction or harm to <firebombs decimated the city> <an industry decimated by recession>
==Description==
'''Decimation''' ([[Latin]]: decimatio; decem = "ten") was a form of military [[discipline]] used by officers in the [[Roman]] Army to punish mutinous or cowardly soldiers. The [[word]] decimation is derived from [[Latin]] meaning "removal of a tenth."
A unit selected for punishment by decimation was divided into groups of ten; each group drew lots (Sortition), and the soldier on whom the lot fell was [[executed]] by his nine comrades, often by stoning or clubbing. The remaining soldiers were given rations of barley instead of wheat and forced to [[sleep]] outside of the [[Roman]] encampment.
Because the punishment fell by lot, all soldiers in the [[group]] were eligible for execution, regardless of the [[individual]] [[degree]] of fault, or rank and distinction.
The [[leadership]] was usually executed independent of the 1 in 10 deaths of the rank and file.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimation_%28Roman_army%29]
[[Category: General Reference]]
==Etymology==
[[Latin]] decimatus, past participle of decimare, from decimus tenth, from decem ten
*Date: [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/17th_Century 1660]
==Definitions==
*1 : to select by lot and kill every tenth man of
*2 : to exact a tax of 10 percent from <poor as a decimated Cavalier — John Dryden>
*3 a : to reduce drastically especially in number <cholera decimated the population> b : to cause great destruction or harm to <firebombs decimated the city> <an industry decimated by recession>
==Description==
'''Decimation''' ([[Latin]]: decimatio; decem = "ten") was a form of military [[discipline]] used by officers in the [[Roman]] Army to punish mutinous or cowardly soldiers. The [[word]] decimation is derived from [[Latin]] meaning "removal of a tenth."
A unit selected for punishment by decimation was divided into groups of ten; each group drew lots (Sortition), and the soldier on whom the lot fell was [[executed]] by his nine comrades, often by stoning or clubbing. The remaining soldiers were given rations of barley instead of wheat and forced to [[sleep]] outside of the [[Roman]] encampment.
Because the punishment fell by lot, all soldiers in the [[group]] were eligible for execution, regardless of the [[individual]] [[degree]] of fault, or rank and distinction.
The [[leadership]] was usually executed independent of the 1 in 10 deaths of the rank and file.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimation_%28Roman_army%29]
[[Category: General Reference]]
