dec-

¹ American  

1. variant of deca- before a vowel.

   decathlon.

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dec. ² American  

abbreviation

1. (in prescriptions) pour off.

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dec. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. deceased.

2. decimeter.

3. declension.

4. decrease.

5. Music. decrescendo.

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Dec. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. December.

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dec. ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. deceased

2. music decrescendo

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Dec ² British  

abbreviation

1. December

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Usage

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-.

Etymology

Origin of dec.

From the Latin word dēcantā

Example Sentences

James was held without a point in the first half for just the third time in his career and for the first time since Dec. 20, 2010.

From Los Angeles Times

Notice the successful retest of a cup base breakout earlier this month from a $105.69 pivot on Dec. 3 just above the very round $100 number.

From Barron's

Nearly three months after the Dec. 20 fire killed their daughters, Hales and Keenan are now facing felony charges in their deaths.

From Los Angeles Times

That aforementioned brick wall comes with a proverbial shard of broken glass: Failure to take the RMD by the deadline — typically Dec. 31 — can result in a 25% penalty on the amount of that RMD not taken, the IRS says.

From MarketWatch

The firm’s multistrategy fund’s private-equity strategy had an estimated gross internal rate of return of 55% for the decade ended Dec. 31, 2025.

From The Wall Street Journal