English
dictator
Dictator comes from Latin dictātor ‘a chief magistrate’, from dictō ‘dictate, prescribe’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- ‘to point out, to show’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deyḱ-‘to point out, to show’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*déyḱeti‘to be pointing out’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*deikō‘to show, indicate’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīcō‘say, speak’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdictō‘dictate, prescribe’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdictātor‘a chief magistrate’
- Englishearliest quotation 1971dictator
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deyḱ-‘to point out, to show’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*déyḱeti‘to be pointing out’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*deikō‘to show, indicate’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīcō‘say, speak’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdictō‘dictate, prescribe’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdictātor‘a chief magistrate’
- Englishearliest quotation 1971dictator
Earliest quotation: 1971, Lyndon Johnson, A Time of Testing: Crises in the Caribbean: “The Dominicans had lived for thirty years under the…”
Equivalent to dictate + -or
Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- ‘to show’
…
Latin dīcō ‘say, speak’
Latin dictō ‘pronounce or declare repeatedly’
Latin nominative
Latin dictātum ‘a thing said, something dictated’
English dictate
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- ‘to point out, to show’
teach, toe, token, digit, paradigm, indicative, syndicate, syndicalism, tache, 43 more
through Proto-Italic *deikō ‘to show, indicate’
contradictory, indexation, 17 more
through Latin dīcō ‘say, speak’
index, indicate, preach, indication, dictionary, predict, dedication, indicator, addict, contradiction, predicament, dedicate, ditto, contradict, predicate, interdiction, diction, interdict, dictum, indicia, 24 more
through Latin dictō ‘dictate, prescribe’
Today it means
noun An authoritarian leader of a country, nation, or government.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- / dictator