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decimate

kill every tenth member historically; later destroy or reduce drastically

borrowing

The exact selection or taxation of a tenth broadens within English to drastic reduction or destruction.

SOUND + EVIDENCE

English decimate is formed on the Latin past-participial stem decimāt-.

Merriam-Webster Editors · establishedDecimate — Word History · Did You Know; Word History ↗OPEN EDGE 169 ↗

decimāre

take a tenth; select every tenth person, including for punishment

derivation

“Tenth” becomes the action “take or select a tenth.”

SOUND + EVIDENCE

Latin decimāre is derived from the tenth/ordinal family.

Merriam-Webster Editors · establishedDecimate — Word History · Etymology ↗OPEN EDGE 170 ↗

decimus

tenth

inflectional derivation

The ordinal adjective “tenth” is substantivized as a tenth part or tithe.

SOUND + EVIDENCE

Latin decima is the feminine form of decimus.

Merriam-Webster Editors · establishedDime — Definition and Word History · Word History: Etymology ↗OPEN EDGE 242 ↗

decima

a tenth part; tithe

Anglo-French · Anglo-French, c. 1066–1500

romance development

The tenth-part and tithe meaning remains central.

SOUND + EVIDENCE

Anglo-French disme and dime continue Latin decima through regular Romance reduction and spelling change.

Merriam-Webster Editors · establishedDime — Definition and Word History · Word History: Etymology ↗OPEN EDGE 241 ↗

disme / dime

a tenth part; tithe

Middle English · Middle English, c. 1150–1500

borrowing

The meaning remains a tenth part or tithe.

SOUND + EVIDENCE

Middle English dime adapts Anglo-French disme or dime, including loss of the written consonant in the simplified form.

Merriam-Webster Editors · establishedDime — Definition and Word History · Word History: Etymology ↗OPEN EDGE 240 ↗

dime

a tenth part; tithe

Present-Day English · 1786–today

semantic specialization

A general tenth-part or tithe word is applied specifically to a coin worth one tenth of a dollar.

SOUND + EVIDENCE

Modern dime preserves the older spelling while English pronunciation developed to /daɪm/.

Merriam-Webster Editors · establishedDime — Definition and Word History · Word History: Etymology and First Known Use ↗OPEN EDGE 239 ↗

dime

a United States or Canadian coin worth ten cents

Present-Day English · 1608–today

REVIEWED LEXICAL PATH

decimal ↔ decimate

6 EDGES

decimal

based on ten or tenths; a base-ten number

French · Early Modern French

borrowing

The “of tenths/base ten” meaning remains transparent.

SOUND + EVIDENCE

French décimal is adapted into English as decimal.

Merriam-Webster Editors · establishedDecimal — Word History · Etymology; First Known Use ↗OPEN EDGE 174 ↗

décimal

of tenths; decimal

Medieval Latin · Medieval Latin

borrowing

The learned mathematical and proportional sense remains tied to tenths.

SOUND + EVIDENCE

Medieval Latin decimālis passes into French décimal with Romance sound development.

Merriam-Webster Editors · establishedDecimal — Word History · Etymology ↗OPEN EDGE 175 ↗

decimālis

of a tenth part; of a tithe

derivation

A tenth part or tithe becomes “pertaining to tenths.”

SOUND + EVIDENCE

Medieval Latin decimālis is formed from Latin decima with an adjectival suffix.

Merriam-Webster Editors · establishedDecimal — Word History · Etymology ↗OPEN EDGE 176 ↗

decima

a tenth part; tithe

inflectional derivation

The ordinal adjective “tenth” is substantivized as a tenth part or tithe.

SOUND + EVIDENCE

Latin decima is the feminine form of decimus.

Merriam-Webster Editors · establishedDime — Definition and Word History · Word History: Etymology ↗OPEN EDGE 242 ↗

decimus

tenth

derivation

“Tenth” becomes the action “take or select a tenth.”

SOUND + EVIDENCE

Latin decimāre is derived from the tenth/ordinal family.

Merriam-Webster Editors · establishedDecimate — Word History · Etymology ↗OPEN EDGE 170 ↗

decimāre

take a tenth; select every tenth person, including for punishment

borrowing

The exact selection or taxation of a tenth broadens within English to drastic reduction or destruction.

SOUND + EVIDENCE

English decimate is formed on the Latin past-participial stem decimāt-.

Merriam-Webster Editors · establishedDecimate — Word History · Did You Know; Word History ↗OPEN EDGE 169 ↗

decimate

kill every tenth member historically; later destroy or reduce drastically

Present-Day English · before the 12th century–today

REVIEWED LEXICAL PATH

December ↔ decimate

6 EDGES

December

the twelfth month of the Gregorian calendar

Middle English · Middle English

orthographic continuation

The month identity remains while its calendar position is twelfth.

SOUND + EVIDENCE

Middle English Decembre is respelled December under renewed Latin influence and standardized capitalization.

Merriam-Webster Editors · establishedDecember — Word History · Word Origin ↗OPEN EDGE 180 ↗

Decembre

the last month of the year

borrowing via competing routes

The named tenth month is retained as the last/twelfth month after calendar reordering.

SOUND + EVIDENCE

The Latin month name reaches Middle English through Old English or Anglo-French transmission; the exact route is not resolved by the reviewed source.

Merriam-Webster Editors · probableDecember — Word History · Etymology ↗OPEN EDGE 181 ↗

December

the tenth month

compound derivation

The numeral ten identifies the tenth month in the early Roman year.

SOUND + EVIDENCE

Latin December is formed on decem “ten” as a month name.

Merriam-Webster Editors · establishedDecember — Word History · Word Origin ↗OPEN EDGE 182 ↗

decem

ten

ordinal derivation

The cardinal “ten” becomes ordinal “tenth.”

SOUND + EVIDENCE

Latin decimus is the ordinal formation corresponding to decem.

Merriam-Webster Editors · establishedDecimate — Word History · Etymology ↗OPEN EDGE 171 ↗

decimus

tenth

derivation

“Tenth” becomes the action “take or select a tenth.”

SOUND + EVIDENCE

Latin decimāre is derived from the tenth/ordinal family.

Merriam-Webster Editors · establishedDecimate — Word History · Etymology ↗OPEN EDGE 170 ↗

decimāre

take a tenth; select every tenth person, including for punishment

borrowing

The exact selection or taxation of a tenth broadens within English to drastic reduction or destruction.

SOUND + EVIDENCE

English decimate is formed on the Latin past-participial stem decimāt-.

Merriam-Webster Editors · establishedDecimate — Word History · Did You Know; Word History ↗OPEN EDGE 169 ↗

decimate

kill every tenth member historically; later destroy or reduce drastically

REVIEWED LEXICAL PATH

decimate ↔ ten

8 EDGES

decimate

kill every tenth member historically; later destroy or reduce drastically

borrowing

The exact selection or taxation of a tenth broadens within English to drastic reduction or destruction.

SOUND + EVIDENCE

English decimate is formed on the Latin past-participial stem decimāt-.

Merriam-Webster Editors · establishedDecimate — Word History · Did You Know; Word History ↗OPEN EDGE 169 ↗

decimāre

take a tenth; select every tenth person, including for punishment

derivation

“Tenth” becomes the action “take or select a tenth.”

SOUND + EVIDENCE

Latin decimāre is derived from the tenth/ordinal family.

Merriam-Webster Editors · establishedDecimate — Word History · Etymology ↗OPEN EDGE 170 ↗

decimus

tenth

ordinal derivation

The cardinal “ten” becomes ordinal “tenth.”

SOUND + EVIDENCE

Latin decimus is the ordinal formation corresponding to decem.

Merriam-Webster Editors · establishedDecimate — Word History · Etymology ↗OPEN EDGE 171 ↗

decem

ten

Proto-Indo-European · Proto-Indo-European prehistory

inherited

The numeral meaning “ten” remains stable.

SOUND + EVIDENCE

Latin decem regularly continues the centum-language form of Indo-European *dekm̥.

American Heritage Indo-European Roots · establishedIndo-European Root dekm̥ · Root dekm̥, section 1.3 ↗OPEN EDGE 172 ↗

*dekm̥

ten

reconstructed

inheritance

The numeral meaning remains ten.

SOUND + EVIDENCE

Germanic *tehun continues Indo-European *deḱm̥ with the initial stop shift and branch-specific treatment of the following consonant cluster.

Merriam-Webster Editors · American Heritage Dictionary Editors · probableIndo-European Root dekm̥ · Root dekm̥, section 1 ↗OPEN EDGE 237 ↗

Proto-Germanic · Proto-Germanic reconstruction, c. 500 BCE–200 CE

*tehun

ten

reconstructed

inheritance

The numeral meaning remains ten.

SOUND + EVIDENCE

Old English tīen and tēn continue Germanic *tehun through West Germanic consonant loss and vowel development.

Merriam-Webster Editors · probableTen — Definition and Word History · Word History: Etymology ↗OPEN EDGE 236 ↗

Old English · Old English, before 1150

tīen / tēn

ten

Middle English · Middle English, c. 1150–1500

inheritance

The cardinal meaning remains ten.

SOUND + EVIDENCE

Middle English ten continues Old English tīen and tēn with vowel shortening and spelling convergence.

Merriam-Webster Editors · establishedTen — Definition and Word History · Word History: Etymology ↗OPEN EDGE 235 ↗

ten

Present-Day English · modern spelling; inherited word recorded before the 12th century

historical continuation

The cardinal value remains ten while later noun, rating, money, and idiomatic senses branch from it.

SOUND + EVIDENCE

Modern English ten continues the Middle English spelling with ordinary phonological stabilization.

Merriam-Webster Editors · establishedTen — Definition and Word History · Word History: Etymology and current definitions ↗OPEN EDGE 234 ↗

ten

the cardinal number one greater than nine