Vicesimation
//ˌvaɪsiːsɪˈmeɪʃən// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The destruction of one-twentieth of something; especially, the killing or putting to death of every twentieth person, especially by lot. countable, rare, uncountable
"The common prisoners…were ordered to cast lots for every twentieth man to be tried, as a sort of vicesimation."
Example
More examples"The common prisoners…were ordered to cast lots for every twentieth man to be tried, as a sort of vicesimation."
Etymology
Probably formed by the suffixation of the Latin vīcēsimus (“twentieth”) with the English -ation on the pattern of decimation, but compare the Latin vīcēsimātiō (“a killing of every twentieth man”); the spelling vigesimation is an alteration of vicesimation under the influence of vigesimal.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.