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decima

tithe

noun DEH-chee-mah Rare
Numbers & Measures Quantities

Origin: From Latin 'decima (pars)', the tenth part.

Also means

tenth part

Usage Note

Decima historically refers to the tithe — a tenth of one's income or produce paid to the Church or the state. In music, decima also denotes the interval of a tenth (an octave plus a third). Do not confuse with the ordinal adjective decimo/a (tenth), though both share the same Latin root.

Examples

"Nel Medioevo i contadini pagavano la decima alla Chiesa."

Natural Translation

In the Middle Ages peasants paid the tithe to the Church.

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