The dictionary also says:
3 a: to reduce drastically especially in number “cholera decimated the population”
That is the present day connotation.
Gay used to mean ‘happily excited.’ Today, if you call someone ‘gay,’ he may get excited but he sure won’t be happy!
3 a: to reduce drastically especially in number “cholera decimated the population”
Yep, I saw that one, too. Still, I prefer the original use of the word, since it is fairly precise in what it means. In fact, the cholera example above is still consistent with the original use of the word where every tenth one is destroyed or killed. I think a 10% reduction in the population constitutes a fairly drastic reduction.