D defs.my
Entry 3 senses Webster, 1913

Decimation

/dĕs'-əm-āshˌ-ən/ · Dec·i·ma·tion · IPA /ˌdɛsɪˈmeɪʃən/
01 n. A tithing.
  1. 1.
    A tithing.[Obs.]
  2. 2.
    A selection of every tenth person by lot, as for punishment.
  3. 3.
    The destruction of any large proportion, as of people by pestilence or war.