dec.

¹

abbreviation for

1. (in prescriptions) pour off.

dec.

²

abbreviation for

1. deceased.
2. decimeter.
3. declension.
4. decrease.
5. Music. decrescendo.

dec-

³

1. variant of deca- before a vowel:

   decathlon.

Dec.

⁴

abbreviation for

1. December.

Dec

¹

abbreviation for

1. December

dec.

²

abbreviation for

1. deceased
2. music decrescendo

Word History and Origins

Origin of dec.¹

From the Latin word dēcantā

Example Sentences

On Dec. 30, she filed a similar lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court.

From The Daily Beast

On Dec. 22, 1799, Sands told her cousins that she would be leaving to elope with a fellow boarder named Levi Weeks that night.

From The Daily Beast

Training in Taji began Dec. 20; a week later, 218 Iraqis began receiving training in Anbar.

From The Daily Beast

It was Dec. 20, 1991, the deadline for the New Hampshire primary.

From The Daily Beast

In the week starting Dec. 22, arrests were down 66 percent compared to the same week in 2013.

From The Daily Beast

After the lapse of a short time the schools were completed, and up to the present (Dec. 1869) worship has been held in them.

From Project Gutenberg

Those who are interested may be referred to an excellent article in America for Dec. 20, 1913, "What to say and how to say it."

From Project Gutenberg

The Council of Trent, on receiving an account of the battle, Dec. 28th, offered solemn thanksgivings.

From Project Gutenberg

Convention of Dec. 31, 1913, regarding the unification of commercial statistics.

From Project Gutenberg

Convention of Dec. 21, 1904, regarding the exemption of hospital ships from dues and charges in ports.

From Project Gutenberg

Words That Use Dec-

What does dec- mean?

Dec- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “ten.” It appears in a small range of terms.

Dec- comes from the Greek déka, meaning “ten.” The word December is related to this root via the Latin equivalent, decem. In fact, what is now the twelfth month of the year was once the tenth month of the early Roman calendar. Learn more at our entry for December.

What are variants of dec-?

Dec- is a variant of deca-, which loses its –a– when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. A similar prefix is deka-, which is reserved for the naming of metric units, and a related Latin-origin form is deci-, from Latin decimus, “tenth.”

Want to know more? Check out our Words That Use articles for deca-, deci-, and deka-.

Examples of dec-

An example of a term you may have come across that features dec- is decade, “a period of ten years.” Decade comes from the Greek dekad-, which features the equivalent of the form dec-.

The form dec- means “ten,” as we have seen. The suffix -ade has various meanings, including denoting “a group or unit comprising a certain number, sometimes of years.” Decade literally translates to “a group of ten [years].”

What are some words that use the combining form dec-?

• decandrous
• decathlon
• decennary (using the equivalent form of dec- in Latin)
• decennium (using the equivalent form of dec- in Latin)

What are some other forms that deca- may be commonly confused with?

• dactylo-
• de-
• deci-
• deka-
• dextro-
• dodeca-

Not every word that begins with the letters dec-, such as decadence or decapitate, is necessarily using the combining form dec- to denote “ten.” Learn why decadence is related to “decay” at our entry for the word.

Break it down!

A biathlon is an athletic contest comprising two different events, typically skiing and shooting. A triathlon is an athletic contest comprising three different events. In keeping with this pattern, what is a decathlon?