a punishment inflicted by the Romans, on such soldiers as quitted their posts, or behaved themselves cowardly in the field. The names of the guilty were put into an urn or helmet, and as many were drawn out as made the tenth part of the whole number, and those were put to the sword, and the others saved. This was called decimare; a word of the ancient Roman militia, who, to punish whole legions when they had failed in their duty, made every tenth soldier draw lots, and put him to death for an example to the others.

As the Romans had their decimatio, they had also the vicefimatio, and even centefimatio, when only the 20th or 100th man suffered by lot.