Now meaning to destroy or wipe out a great number, it;s from the Latin word for "ten"
... liquidate, obliterate, remove, root (out), snuff (out), stamp (out), 
wipe out;... [DOC] [TLE] Decimate - definition of decimate by The Free Dictionary [PAR] [C17: from Latin decimre, from decimus tenth, from decem ten] ... usage: The 
extended sense of decimate, to destroy a great number or proportion ... 
extinguish - kill in large numbers; "the plague wiped out an entire population" ...