English
diction
Diction comes from Middle English diccion ‘something said’.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500diccion‘something said’
- Englishtodaydiction
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500diccion‘something said’
- Englishtodaydiction
The story
From late Middle English diccion (‘something said; a word or phrase’) (an obsolete sense in Modern English), borrowed directly from Latin dictiō (‘a saying, speaking, uttering’) or from Old French dicïon (‘word’) (Anglo-Norman dictyoun), from Late Latin dictiō (‘word’), both from dīcō (‘to say, to talk’) + -tiō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (‘to show, to point out’). The modern senses of “choice and use of words” and “clarity of word choice” were likely influenced by additional senses of dictiō.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- ‘to show, to point out’
teach, toe, token, digit, paradigm, syndicate, indicative, tache, syndicalism, indexation, 45 more
through Latin dīcō ‘to say, to talk’
index, indicate, preach, indicator, predict, indication, dedication, dedicate, ditto, dictator, addict, dictate, predicament, contradictory, contradict, predicate, ditty, interdict, dictum, indicia, 25 more
Today it means
noun Choice and use of words, especially with regard to effective communication; the effectiveness and degree of clarity of word choice and expression.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English diccion / diction