decimated

Decimated is the past participle of the verb decimate. The term derives from Latin decimatus, from decem meaning ten, and it is historically linked to a Roman military punishment called decimation, in which one-tenth of a cohort were killed or punished by lot. The precise procedure varied over time and region, and the historical practice is now mainly cited as a severe example of collective punishment. In contemporary English, decimate has broadened beyond a fixed ten-percent target to mean to destroy, remove, or greatly reduce something, often without implying a specific fraction.

In general usage, decimate describes a drastic reduction in numbers, scale, or quality. The word is frequently applied to populations, ecosystems, organizations, or structures after disasters, wars, epidemics, or large-scale failures. Because it conveys a strong sense of attrition, some writers and editors caution that it can be hyperbolic when the actual proportion is unknown or small; precision may be preferred in formal writing.

In scientific and technical contexts, decimation has a more precise meaning. In signal processing and data handling, decimation refers to downsampling a data stream by selecting a subset of samples, thereby reducing the data rate. The resulting dataset is described as decimated. This use is distinct from the historical or metaphorical sense and emphasizes a controlled reduction rather than a sudden, indiscriminate destruction.

See also: decimation, downsampling.