Posted on 07/09/2015 11:40:57 AM PDT by pabianice
Most people have a linguistic pet peeve or two, a useful complaint about language that they can sound off about to show other people that they know how to wield the English language. Most of these peeves tend to be rather irrational, a quality which should in no way diminish the enjoyment of the complainer. A classic example of this is the word decimate.
The complaint about the word typically centers on the fact that decimate is used improperly to refer to ‘destroying a large portion of something’, when the ‘true’ meaning of the word is ‘to put to death (or punish) one of every ten’.
There are several problems with this complaint. The first, and most obvious, is that language has an ineluctable desire to change, and there are almost no words in English which have been around for more than a few hundred years without taking on new meanings, changing their old ones, or coming to simultaneously mean one thing and the opposite (a type of word known as a contronym).
I totally agree. I consider misuse of this term a sign of poor teaching (i.e., lack of classical education).
It depends on where you are standing.
Means to cut by 10.................
“The complaint about the word typically centers on the fact that decimate is used improperly to refer to ‘destroying a large portion of something’, when the ‘true’ meaning of the word is ‘to put to death (or punish) one of every ten’.”
Unfortunately, the “Dictionary” has already rendered your objection irrelevant, just as our “benevolent” SCOTUS and Department of “Justice” have redefined what is right and good for us.
Decimate (Definition 1):
to destroy a great number or proportion of:
The population was decimated by a plague.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/decimate?s=t
A cartoon character demonstrates how to ‘decimate’; “I HATE those Mee-cess TO PIECES!!!” Pixie & Dixie & Mr. Jinks.
Notice how few online dictionaries even bother with word etymology now?
Decimation was a punishment is the Roman legions for poor performance
When President Obama boasted that al-Quaida was “decimated,” my thought was, since its strength has only been reduced by ten percent, what is there to brag about?
“Notice how few online dictionaries even bother with word etymology now?”
FWIW, my source did, had to click on “Word Origin”.
“When President Obama boasted that al-Quaida was “decimated,” my thought was, since its strength has only been reduced by ten percent, what is there to brag about?”
I wonder if they moved the wrong definition to #1 to support the Fraud. ;)
How about the phrase ‘very unique’? That phase is one of my pet peeves. ‘Unique’ means ‘one of a kind’. Something or someone either IS, or IS NOT unique. That phrase would be like saying a woman is ‘partly’ or ‘almost’ pregnant!
I’ve even heard the phrases ‘very unique’ and ‘almost unique’ used by an MBA who taught at a university after an international business culsulting career, including the original Canary Wharf development. Very disappointing to hear such mistakes from a ‘professional’.
Another pet peeve of mine is the misuse of “apocalypse” to mean calamity or catastrophe, when the word actually means disclosure.
He was the man that robbed the store.
It should be:
He was the man who robbed the store.
I hear this one butchered fairly regularly on the evening news.
I like the Urban Dictionary’s #1 definition for “Obama”:
The Messiah for brain-dead Democrats.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Obama
“More wrong” from Big Bang Theory last night. :)
Reminds me of a politician who called himself "severely conservative."
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