Podchaser Logo
Home
'Decimate': Use It However You Want

'Decimate': Use It However You Want

Released Wednesday, 17th November 2021
 2 people rated this episode
'Decimate': Use It However You Want

'Decimate': Use It However You Want

'Decimate': Use It However You Want

'Decimate': Use It However You Want

Wednesday, 17th November 2021
 2 people rated this episode
Rate Episode

Few words in the English language get people as riled up as the supposed "incorrect" use of 'decimate.' Does it have to keep its Roman meaning of "reduce by one tenth" or can it generally mean "destroy," as it's been used by millions of speakers for hundreds of years? (Hint: see title.)

Then we'll look at the language of invitations, and the rescinding thereof: yep, it's the difference between 'disinvite' and 'uninvite.'

Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.

Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.

Transcript available here.


Sponsored by University of California Irvine Division of Continuing Education. For more information, please visit: ce.uci.edu/learnnow

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Show More

Unlock more with Podchaser Pro

  • Audience Insights
  • Contact Information
  • Demographics
  • Charts
  • Sponsor History
  • and More!
Pro Features