Dictionary

decima en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ˈdɛsɪmə/

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin decima (“a tenth”), now particularly via Italian decima. Doublet of decim, decime, and dime.

Meanings

1. (qualifier:generally obsolete) A tenth, particularly ▸ A tithe or tax of one-tenth (now usually in historical Italian contexts).
   • He brandished his title as apostolic commissioner in court, and as supervisor of the papal decima in Tuscany. 1988, Renaissance Studies, volume 2, page 195:
2. (obsolete, qualifier:generally obsolete) A tenth, particularly ▸ A tenth: a note nine degrees of the scale above or below a given note (and thus ten degrees separate counting inclusively) or the interval between such notes.
3. (qualifier:generally obsolete) A tenth, particularly ▸ An organ stop a tenth above the normal 8-foot pitch.

Forms

Synonyms

tenth (generally) · tithe (tithe) · tenth (musical note or interval) · great-tierce (organ stop) · double-tierce (organ stop)

decima en · NOUN · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• /ˈdɛsɪmə/

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish décima, from Latin decima (“a tenth”). Doublet of decim, decime, and dime.

Meanings

1. A 10-line verse or stanza, (chiefly) in the form of a song comprising an introductory verse followed by four such divisions.
   • His album... dealt with the song form of Puerto Rican back-country troubadours, and it had a preoccupation with... the décima, a 10-line stanza with specific rhyme schemes. 2008 December 4, New York Times, C8:

Forms