In article >,
"Michael" > wrote:
>"M&M" > wrote in message
...
>>
>> We have been victimized yet again by common usage of the language.

"Common use" doesn't make it right.

>> I seem to believe that 'decimate' has been used in reference to the
>> depletion of populatin as a result of plague where only ten percent
>> survive. I stand corrected. And you sir have inflicted your superior
>> intellect on the rest of us ignorant individuals without benefit of the
>> full explanation.
>
>The root of the word comes from the Roman Legions practice of killing every
>tenth man in a legion that showed cowardice or failure. The plague thing is
>of more recent usage.

See also your Texas history, specifically the Drawing of the
Beans at Salado.

--
Mark Shaw contact info at homepage --> http://www.panix.com/~mshaw
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