decimeren

Decimeren is a Dutch verb meaning to reduce something by a tenth or to decimate. In everyday usage it can describe a reduction by a factor of ten, the removal of roughly one in ten items, or a drastic but not necessarily total reduction. In data processing or statistics, decimeren may refer to sampling methods that select one out of every ten items, thereby reducing dataset size. In common language, decimeren is often used metaphorically to indicate substantial loss or damage, similar to the English decimate.

Historically, the term derives from the Latin decimare “to take a tenth,” from decimus “tenth.” In Roman military practice, decimation referred to the punishment of one soldier in every ten as collective discipline; from this origin, the modern sense evolved to indicate a drastic reduction, though contemporary usage often broadens the meaning beyond a precise tenth. The Dutch verb retains that historical association but is typically used with less strict numeric precision.

Etymology and usage notes: Decimeren shares its root with decimation and the deci- prefix. Because the original sense implied a specific tenth, some language authorities caution against using decimeren to mean any large-scale destruction without clarification. When precision matters, it is better to specify the exact fraction or percentage, such as a ten percent reduction or a 90 percent decrease.

See also: decimation, deci-, sampling, data reduction, Roman history.