How to spell decimal

hear itdec·i·mal/'dɛsəməl/adjectiveSchwa and roots

What it means: Relating to or based on the number ten.

In a sentence: We learned how to add decimal numbers in math class today.

The part people get wrong

Watch for an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear. Often misspelled as desimal or decmial.

Same family: decimal point, decimal place, decimate, decade, decimation. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Decimal” comes from the Latin word “decimus,” meaning “tenth,” from “decem,” meaning “ten.” It originally referred to dividing something into ten parts, which is why our decimal system is based on powers of ten.

Patterns it uses: The unstressed vowel (schwa)

Try spelling it

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