Sir, – Charles Daly (October 14th) queries the use of "decimation" to describe the imminent meltdown of the Labour Party.
While it is true that one soldier in 10 from his own army was executed by the Earl of Essex after his 1599 defeat at Wicklow (he in turn being literally decapitated for his troubles), “decimation” has been used in a rhetorical, non-literal, meaning ever since.
Its first citation – in the sense of destruction – appears in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1663.
George Bernard Shaw, a noted literary stylist, wrote in the preface to The Doctor's Dilemma: "Every doctor will allow a colleague to decimate a whole countryside sooner than violate the bond of professional etiquette by giving him away."
As a doctor, I can confirm that Shaw didn’t mean 10 per cent. – Yours, etc,
Dr JOHN DOHERTY,
Gaoth Dobhair,
Co Dhún na nGall.