Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Hmmm. If the human race had been "decimated" (ie one in ten killed), that would still leave 90% surviving, which would seem reasonably secure  . |
The word no longer means that. It now means "destroying a large portion of something". And it wasn't originally coined for that Roman punishment, which was a later usage.
http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2...roy-one-tenth/