decimation

noun

Etymology: Borrowed from Latin decimātiō, a punishment where every 10th man in a unit would be stoned to death by the men who were spared. Used by the Romans to keep order in their military. Compare septimation and vicesimation.

1. The killing or punishment of every tenth person, usually by lot.

   “By decimation and a tythed death; / If thy Reuenges hunger for that Food, / Which Nature loathes, take thou the deſtin'd tenth, […]”

2. The killing or destruction of any large portion of a population.

   “And the vvhole Army had cauſe to enquire into their own Rebellions, vvhen they ſavv the Lord of Hoſts, vvith a dreadful Decimation, taking off ſo many of our Brethren by the vvorſt of Executioners.”

   “General Secretary Mick Lynch said: "It is crystal clear that the planned cutbacks on ScotRail and SWR are just the tip of the iceberg, as cynical employers use the cloak of COVID-19 to smuggle through the decimation of jobs and services on Britain's railways.”

3. A tithe or the act of tithing.
4. The creation of a new sequence comprising only every nth element of a source sequence.
5. The creation of a new sequence comprising only every nth element of a source sequence.