centesimation
Pronunciations
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/ˌsɛntiːsɪˈmeɪʃən/
Pronunciation notes
- Received-Pronunciation
Noun
The selection by lot of every hundredth man (of an army or group of prisoners or mutineers) for execution.
Usage- Countable
- Rare
- Uncountable
- Related words
- Examples
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CENTESIMATION, a milder kind of military puniſhment, in caſes of deſertion, mutiny, and the like, when only every hundredth man is executed.
Sometimes the criminals were decimated by lot, as appears in Polybius, Tacitus, Plutarch, Appian, Dio, Julius Capitolinus, who also mentions a centesimation.
More examples (3)
1897, The Columbian Cyclopedia VI, “centesimate” To inflict the punishment of centesimation.
Centesimation…carries only one-tenth the sensation value of “decimation”.
Decimate, to select by lot and put to death every tenth man of (a captured army or body of prisoners or mutineers) […] Compare 1/100: centesimation.
Word forms
centesimations