decimation : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: decimation	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for decimation
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
decimation n destroying or killing a large part of the population (literally every tenth person as chosen by lot)
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Decimation \Dec`i*ma"tion\, n. [L. decimatio: cf. F. d[82]cimation.] 1. A tithing. [Obs.] --State Trials (1630). 2. A selection of every tenth person by lot, as for punishment. --Shak. 3. The destruction of any large proportion, as of people by pestilence or war. --Milman.