'Decimate' means much more today than it did in ancient Rome

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. 'Decimate' means much more today than it did in ancient Rome May 1, 2026 5:00 AM ET By Scott Neuman A depiction of a Roman decimation. William Hogarth/Wikipedia Commons hide caption toggle caption William Hogarth/Wikipedia Commons If you've been following the news lately, you might have noticed that a certain word has suddenly become a favorite of President Trump's: "decimate. " He has used it a lot to describe U.

military action against Iran. Take, for example, part of his April 1 address to the nation about Operation Epic Fury: "We've beaten and completely decimated Iran. They are decimated both militarily and economically.

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" National In address to the nation, Trump says war in Iran is 'nearing completion' Today, most people know the word as a synonym for "destroy. " But fewer realize its origins — or that it's come to mean something strikingly different than it once did. Michiel de Vaan, an etymologist at the University of Basel in Switzerland, says decimate traces back to the Latin decimatio, by way of decimus, meaning a tenth.

In its original Latin form, decimatio "meant to take out and kill one-tenth of a group of soldiers," he says. It meant something very specific — a brutal form of discipline, not a vague notion of widespread destruction, de Vaan notes. Sponsor Message A "decimation" was a punishment meted out by the legionaries of the Roman army on their own comrades "in cases where an entire group of soldiers had typically been guilty of something like cowardice on the battlefield," according to Gregory Aldrete, a professor emeritus of history at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

What was a Roman decimation? Such punishment was rarely inflicted, but when it did occur, it was carried out with cold-blooded efficiency, Aldrete says. "They would have the group that they wanted to punish randomly draw lots, and every tenth soldier was then clubbed to death by nine others.

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" The idea behind this punishment was that sacrificing 10% of an army's soldiers was sufficient to create a lasting impression on the others, deterring future misbehavior without losing too much military strength. The Roman historians Plutarch and Appian both mention an example of decimation in 72 B. , during the Third Servile War.

General Marcus Licinius Crassus was fighting the famed Roman gladiator Spartacus, who was leading a major slave uprising against Rome. In an engagement against the rebels, one unit ran from the battlefield. In turn, Crassus ordered a decimation.

Author Interviews 'Spartacus War': Story Of The Real-Life Gladiator Ever since, "historians have wondered why he did it," says Barry Strauss, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. The speculation is that Spartacus' insurrection had been a serious threat to Roman rule; his group of rebels ravaged southern Italy and defeated multiple Roman legions.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.