IMPROPER-BUT-NO-LONGER-INCORRECT word usage alert: acĀcording to Merriam-Webster OnĀline, the word decĀimal as an adĀjecĀtive means (in order) ānumĀbered or proĀceeding by tens; or based on the number 10; esĀpeĀcially exĀpressed in or utiĀlizing a decĀimal system esĀpeĀcially with a decĀimal point; or subĀdiĀvided into 10th or 100th units.ā As a noun, decĀimal means alĀmost the same: āany real number exĀpressed in base 10.ā
Now, the Word Alert here aināt for decĀimalāitās for decĀiĀmate, which means āto seĀlect by lot and kill every tenth man of.ā A secĀondary deĀfĀiĀnĀiĀtion is far less likely to be found in modern usage: āto exact a tax of 10 perĀcent from.ā
So, used propĀerly, āto decĀiĀmate something/anythingā means to reĀmove or elimĀiĀnate every tenth item or thing in that something/anything. More loosely, but still propĀerly, it means to elimĀiĀnate or reĀmove any one-tenth of that something/anything.
The imĀproper and once inĀcorĀrect meaningāāto reĀduce drasĀtiĀcally, esĀpeĀcially in numberāāis now corĀrect: the deĀfĀiĀnĀiĀtion I just used is the third listed by Merriam-Webster. So, once again, igĀnoĀrance and misuse of the lanĀguage triĀumphs over knowlĀedge awareĀness correctness.
For those of us āstickĀlersā who still beĀlieve in preĀscripĀtive dicĀtioĀnaries, it reĀmains nonetheĀless quite imĀproper when used thusly!
I bring this to your atĀtenĀtion beĀcause I see decĀiĀmate used so freĀquently these days. It has beĀcome quite popĀular with the past few genĀerĀaĀtions of writers. I mean, like, man, I see it everyĀwhereāand alĀways used imĀpropĀerly. In fact, Iām not cerĀtain that I have seen it used propĀerly in decades (anĀother word with dec. (Oh, damn! Now Iām making the arĀguĀment for its inĀcorĀrect usage as the ānewā corĀrect usage!).
PS: Did you know that nonetheĀless (a word that I posĀiĀtively use alĀmost to exĀcess) and nevĀerĀtheĀless (a word that I alĀmost never use) and notwithĀstanding (does anyone use that word in acĀtual conĀverĀsaĀtion anyĀmore?) are all synonyms?
I didnāt! Hellās Belles!! I didnāt even know that notwithĀstanding was a word!!!