~. 
DEC 
Deecima, a the eoghics S a tenth, ia Mujfic, 
D 
eeece of the major or -cima, Serine or 
following an a has in face ‘the force of ten in Eng- 
lith ; as undecima, 113. duodecima, 12; decima terzo, 13 3 
decima quarta, 14 ; decima sara the 15th or double oc- 
tave ; decima fefta, the 2d tripled, or oGlave of the oth ;- 
decima fettima, or 17th, &c. 
iE, or Decuma, see or Tithes, in Roman 
Anti Lah a oar or impoft, w formed one part of the 
plncry alia e Romens, in the sty times of the common- 
ade was raifed upon lands. When the ae had 
once a people, either in or out of Italy, they deprived 
them of part of their territory, of which they diftributed 
a portion among citizens; who fettled there as a colon 
ferving the property of ‘the reft to the flate, which oe 
farmed to particular perfons, upon condition of paying a 
tenth of the profits of fuch - ds to the Roman people. 
e tenths were not raifed in the fame manner in all the 
provinces. From fome a esta quant of grain, or a see 
ed fum of money, was exacted, n Spain and Afric 
and this impos was called “s eal aan ete it 
was always the fame, whether the year were good or bad, 
or the lands eroded much or little. Other provinces, as 
Afia, were treated more favourably, and paid only the tenth 
precifely, fo that the Roman people fhared in the misfor- 
une of barren years. “Sicily was treated in the fame man- 
sii and, indeed, se pe greater indulgence. Corn wa 
‘bought from Si cily, o from the other provinces, un- 
dcr three ae Jenomination’ viz. * frumentum decu- 
manum,”” which was the roth o 
hufbandman’s lands, with which he was obliged to fupply 
the Roman people gratis ; ** emptum,”? which was the corn 
bought by the Roman people for the ‘occafions of the flate, 
and on which they themfelves fixed the price; and “ eiti- 
ich was the corn confumed in the pretor’s 
houfe, and with which the province was obliged to fupply 
the 
‘<2 } 
him: this he fometimes — in nd he fixe 
tenths of wine, oil, nt the lower 
ai 
2 ti ithes, ¢ ‘ decumani,”” were ef- 
teemed the moft honourable of the Sea or shh ge- 
neral, as agriculture was efteemed t ft 
a fortune amon 
(See Cicero in Verr.) But thefe lands were all fold or dif- 
tributed among the citizens at different times, and the land 
of ra the laft by Cefar. (Suet. Jul. 20. Cicero Att. 
ii 
" Decnte. See Tit 
DECIMAL, ina bccn fenfe, denotes any thing that 
proceeds by tens, as decimal arithmetic, fraCtions, fcales, 
MAL aparuanet the ca of computing by decimal 
fraGtions, firft invented by Johannes Regiomontanus, about 
the year 1464, and ufed by him in the conftrudtion of his 
tables of fines ; who thus introduced decimal parts in the 
room of fexagefimals. 
cord. But the ies perfon who wrote an oa treatife on 
decimals, was Stevinus, about the year 1582 
This kind of pare in a general fenfe, may be con- 
fidered as the common arithmetical computation in aa in 
which the decimal feries of numbers i is ado which 
portion, being 10 times ery place 
wards the left hand, or 10 times lefs a every hiee- more 
DEC 
fenfe, therefore, the term comprehends both the srithmetic 
i i i a more limited fenfe, 
n 
+ 
S 
ss 
7 
| oad 
a 
bt 
© 
pS 
ra 
o 
ou 
fd 
om 
é 
AL fradions, are thofe whofe denominator is 1, 
with on or more ey ples 18.3 aS; TO, 100, FO eke 100ce, &c. 
Thus, ys, 7S0: reso» &e. are decimal frattio 
In the writing of “decimal fractions, we aloaily omit the 
denominator, as only confifting of unity with cyphers an- 
nexed ; and im lieu thereof, a point, or nai called the 
ae, is prefixed to ae 8, +55 is writ~ 
en .53 +485, .46. So .125 expreffes a sanded and twen- 
ty-five parts of any thing Tigo to be divided into a 
ute par 
This fe eparatrix has been different according to the fancy 
of different authors ; fometimes it has been a femipar ate 
t, ora A al ae ular bar, or the fame with 
e figures, or fimply this line” itfelf, 
&c. The point or comma, now generally ae has fome- 
times been placed near the upper part the figu 
which was done by fir Ifaac Newton ; ay though 1 
been more commonly placed at tbe bott 
mode has the advantage i 
8 cyphers on the right 7 of SS aes their 
value decimally; as 2, 20, 200, &c. on the left 
hand of a fetus cay ’diminith oe value decimally ; 
as, 5, 05, 005, &c. when fet on the left hand of integers, 
or on ne right hand of decimals, they fignify nothing, but 
only to fll up tae ; thus .5000 denotes only five tenths, 
and ooc ot is only fiv 
down a aca fraétion without its denomin- 
ator, ie numerator mut confift of as many goign there 
not fo 
5 
“4 
ee thus 3, 
Bot 4, is .14, and +4, 1s .014, a 
c. 
To ree any mie ae as fappote , to a decimal 
Jfrattion ame value: add cyphers at rer to the 
GaBeniot aa divide by the Dciunner 3 as thu 
8) 5000 
626 
And therefore ,§25,, or .62 5 is a decimal of the fame va- 
lue with the forme er fra€tion % 
Some vulgar ean can ‘never be reduced into decimals 
&c. in thofe cafes, the greater num 
er of places ie decimals are continued to, the more is the 
defe&t diminifhed, in a tenfold aa Thus, § ex- 
prefled in decimals is .333333 ad infinitu 
Such decimals are very properly called are eg deci- 
n ur 
remai are therefore eailed Sait cr de- 
terminate acon als. See RepeTenDs. 
e rule above given, the parts of any ficeyer may be 
eafily redaced into decimals. Thus, 5S 18 aig, OF 625 of 
3 Od. is sS5, OF gos # €. 025 of a pound ; 
