Etymograph

English

dictate

Dictate comes from Latin dictātum ‘a thing said, something dictated’, from dictō ‘pronounce or declare repeatedly’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- ‘to show’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deyḱ-‘to show’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*déyḱeti‘to show, point out’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*deikō‘to show, indicate’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīcō‘say, speak’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdictō‘pronounce or declare repeatedly’frequentative of dīcō
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnominative
  7. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdictātum‘a thing said, something dictated’
  8. Englishtodaydictate

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deyḱ-‘to show’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*déyḱeti‘to show, point out’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*deikō‘to show, indicate’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīcō‘say, speak’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdictō‘pronounce or declare repeatedly’frequentative of dīcō
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnominative
  7. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdictātum‘a thing said, something dictated’
  8. Englishtodaydictate

first attested First attested in 1581 (as stated in the etymology)

The story

First attested in 1581; borrowed from Latin dictātum (‘a thing said, something dictated’), substantivized from the nominative neuter singular of dictātus, the perfect passive participle of dictō (‘pronounce or declare repeatedly; dictate’), frequentative of dīcō (‘say, speak’).

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- ‘to show’

teach, toe, token, digit, paradigm, indicative, syndicate, syndicalism, tache, 43 more

through Proto-Italic *deikō ‘to show, indicate’

indexation, interdiction, 17 more

through Latin dīcō ‘say, speak’

index, preach, indicate, indication, dictionary, dedication, predict, indicator, ditto, contradictory, contradiction, addict, predicament, contradict, dedicate, predicate, diction, dictum, interdict, indicia, 24 more

through Latin dictō ‘pronounce or declare repeatedly’

ditty, 8 more

through Latin nominative

aggregate, ancestor, delegate

Another origin of dictate

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deyḱ-‘to point out, to show’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*déyḱeti‘to be pointing out’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*deikō‘to show, indicate’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīcō‘to say, talk, speak, utter, mention’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdictō‘to pronounce or declare repeatedly’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdictātusperfect passive participle of dictō
  7. Englishtodaydictate

First attested in 1577; borrowed from Latin dictātus, perfect passive participle of dictō (‘to pronounce or declare repeatedly; to dictate’) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), frequentative of dīcō (‘say, speak’).

Today it means

noun An order or command.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- / dictate

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