DOUG'S WORD OF THE WEEK

decuman / DEK-yoo-muhn / adjective: 1. Very large or immense 2. (in ancient Rome) of or pertaining to the tenth cohort of a legion.

Notes & Etymology: From Latin decumanus, variant of decimanus (of the tenth), from decimus (tenth), from decem (ten). The word was often applied to waves from the belief that every tenth wave is greater than the others. The word also referred to the main gate of a military camp in ancient Rome called the decuman gate . This gate faced away from the enemy and the tenth cohort of the legion was stationed there.

Usage: “The lover whose soul shaken is In some decuman billow of bliss. ”
Francis Thompson; The Way of a Maid; c. 1890 .