[Cialug] Security and the browser

[Bryan Baker]

On Oct 22, 2008, at 10:05 AM, David Champion wrote:
> Daniel A. Ramaley wrote:
>>
>> On Tuesday October 21 2008 17:27, Bryan Baker wrote:
>>> Just don't get me started on "decimated"!
>> I'll bite. What's wrong with "decimated"? I know the word has changed
>> definition somewhat drastically[1] but otherwise seems OK to me.
>>
>> [1] Correct me if i'm wrong, but i think it once meant having 10% of
>>     a population killed (in reference to a punishment meted out to
>>     Roman Centurions), but now it means having 10% of a population
>>     remain while the other 90% are wiped out. Or in more casual use,
>>     it just means a substantial fraction loss of a population.
> Yeah, that's the one.

> It's one of those things where some people use it incorrectly, it  
> eventually becomes accepted practice to use it incorrectly.
> I think it's commonly used now for an event more loose  
> interpretation - simply meaning that something was wiped out or  
> destroyed, i.e. "The tornado totally decimated the town." I've heard  
> that expression used on national news programs.


Exactly. It literally means to reduce by 1/10 and is now used as a  
synonym for total destruction (an almost 180°spin). It also went from  
something you did to your own troops (as a punishment) to being  
something inflicted by others, but it's the whole proportion thing  
that bugs me most. I actually don't even mind when they really do just  
mean a larger percentage, but lately people have been using it as  
utter destruction.

Love the addition of "totally" in your example, Dave.

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it  
means" Inego Montoya

Here's a usage note from my computer's dictionary:

USAGE Historically, the meaning of the word decimate is ‘kill one in  
every ten of (a group of people).’ This sense has been superseded by  
the later, more general sense ‘kill or destroy a large percentage or  
part of,’ as in : the virus has decimated the population. Some  
traditionalists argue that this and other later senses are incorrect,  
but it is clear that these extended senses are now part of standard  
English. It is sometimes also argued that decimate should refer to  
people and not to things or animals such as weeds or insects. It is  
generally agreed that decimate should not be used to mean 'defeat  
utterly.'


--
Bryan "ka-klick" Baker
Singer/Songwriter
With 2 New CDs!!! See my website for details
kaklick_martin at mac.com
http://ka-klick.com