English
indicate
Indicate comes from Latin indicātus, participle of indicō ‘to point out’, from in- + dicō ‘to declare, originally to point’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdicō‘to declare, (originally) to point’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEindicō‘to point out, indicate’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEindicātus‘indicated, pointed out’perfect passive participle of indicō
- Englishearliest quotation 1903indicate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdicō‘to declare, (originally) to point’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEindicō‘to point out, indicate’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEindicātus‘indicated, pointed out’perfect passive participle of indicō
- Englishearliest quotation 1903indicate
Earliest quotation: 1903, How to indicate an engine: “To a person who is familiar with the use…”
The story
Borrowed from Latin indicātus, perfect passive participle of indicō (‘to point out, indicate’) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from in- (‘in, to’) + dicō (‘to declare, (originally) to point’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- ‘to point out, to show’
teach, toe, token, digit, paradigm, syndicate, tache, interdict, syndicalism, 45 more
through Proto-Italic *deikō ‘to show, indicate’
through Latin dīcō ‘to say, talk, speak, utter, mention’
dictionary, predict, preach, dedication, addict, contradictory, contradiction, ditto, dictator, contradict, predicament, dictate, dedicate, ditty, diction, dictum, predicate, dict, 25 more
through Latin index ‘a pointer, indicator’
through Latin indicō ‘to point out, indicate’
Today it means
verb To point out; to discover; to direct to a knowledge of; to show; to make known.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin dicō / indicate