Etymologically
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decimo

Etymology and origin of the Latin word decimo

History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈdɛ.kɪ.moː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈdɛː.t͡ʃi.mo][1]

Forms

decimō (present infinitive decimāre, perfect active decimāvī, supine decimātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is formed from decimus “tenth” with the verbal suffix -ō, a derivative of decem “ten”.[2][1][3] A by-form decumō is found.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Festus records an old sense, to offer a tithe to a god.[2][4] The military sense appears from the 1st century AD, in Tacitus and Suetonius, although Lewis and Short note that the punishment itself is reported much earlier, by Livy.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

In the army it meant to punish every tenth man chosen by lot, as Galba did to mutinous marines, and Augustus fed decimated cohorts on barley.[2][5] In the Vulgate it meant to pay or collect tithes, a sense continued in Ecclesiastical Latin.[4][6] The participle decimatus was used by Symmachus to mean “choice, excellent”.[4][7]

In medieval Latin it meant to reduce by a tenth.[8] English borrowed it as English decimate around 1600 in the military sense, and has used it loosely for “destroy a large part of” since the 1660s.[3]

Timeline

  • 2nd century AD – Festus records it for offering a tithe.[2]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it for the punishment of surrendered troops.[2][9]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius reports decimations by Augustus and Galba.[2][9]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it for paying tithes.[4][9]
  • c. 1600 – English borrows it as English decimate.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (military) To punish every tenth man chosen by lot, decimate.[2][4]
  2. To offer a tithe to a god.[2]
  3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) To pay or collect tithes.[4][6]

Word family

  • addecimō
  • decimātiō
  • decimātor
  • edecimo

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  8. ^ Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  9. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Decimo.” Etymologically, 10 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/decimo. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on .