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diezmar

to decimate

verb dyehs-MAHR Rare
People & Society Military

Origin: From Latin decimare (to take one in ten), from decem (ten).

Usage Note

Diezmar originally meant to kill one in ten soldiers as punishment, but today it means to destroy or reduce drastically — la enfermedad diezmó a la población (the disease decimated the population). Like English 'decimate', it is frequently used hyperbolically. The noun form is diezmo (tithe), which shares the same Latin root.

Examples

"La sequía diezmó los cultivos de la región."

Natural Translation

The drought decimated the crops of the region.

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