decima

Forms

decima f (genitive decimae); first declension^[1] It is also spelled decuma.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin decimus (“tenth”), in its feminine form,^[2][1] used as a noun by ellipsis of pars “part” or hōra “hour”.^[1][4][3] De Vaan treats it under decem: the ordinal goes back to Proto-Italic *dekamo- (“tenth”), which gave ⟨decumo-⟩ or ⟨decimo-⟩.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan records it from Plautus on;^[5] in the Stichus (c. 250–184 BC) it is a tithe offered to Hercules.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

Its first sense was a tenth part, especially a tenth vowed to a god such as Hercules or Apollo.^[2][4] It then named the tax of a tenth on the produce of provincial land, or the right to collect it, which Cicero discusses at length in the speeches against Verres;^[2][3] a tenth of an estate, given by will;^[2][3] and a distribution of money or food to the people.^[3] With hōra understood it was the tenth hour of the day, counted from dawn.^[2][4]

In Christian and medieval use it became the church tithe, a tenth of income and above all of farm produce, given at first voluntarily and made compulsory in the Carolingian period; it also meant the right to levy tithes and the area that paid them.^[7][8] English dime “a tenth, tithe” comes from it, partly through Old French.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a tithe offered to Hercules.^[2][5][6]
• c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius uses it of the tax of a tenth on produce.^[2][6]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero discusses the tithes in the speeches against Verres.^[2][3][6]
• 1st century AD – Columella uses it for the tenth hour.^[2][6]
• Carolingian period – The church tithe becomes compulsory.^[7]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as dime, “a tenth, tithe”.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A tenth part; a tithe.^[2][4]
2. A tithe offered to a god.^[2][3]
3. (usually plural) A tax of a tenth on the produce of land, or the right to collect it.^[2][3]
4. A tenth of an estate left by will.^[2][3]
5. The tenth hour of the day, counted from dawn.^[2][4]
6. (Medieval Latin) The church tithe; the right to levy it; the area liable to it.^[7][8]

Word family

• decimarius
• decimō

Related words

• decem
• decumanus
• English dime
• English tithe

Usage notes

Decima (also Decuma) was also the name of a Roman goddess of the last month of pregnancy, counted as one of the three Fates;^[2][10][3] Varro, quoted by Gellius, derives her name from the time of a timely birth.^[2][10][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
4. ^ a b c d e Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften