English
contradict
Contradict comes from Latin contrādictus ‘contradicted’, from contrādīcō ‘speak against’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- ‘to show’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deyḱ-1‘to show’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déyḱeti2‘to show, point out’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*deikō2‘to show, indicate’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīcō3‘to say, speak’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontrādīcō4‘speak against’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontrādictus4‘contradicted’past participle of contrādīcō
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1595contradict4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *déyḱeti
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin dico
- 3 Wiktionary, Latin contradico
- 4 Wiktionary, English contradict
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1595, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet: “A greater power than we can contradict Hath thwarted…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deyḱ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *déyḱeti‘to show’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déyḱetiWiktionary, Latin dico‘to show, point out’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*deikōWiktionary, Latin dico‘to show, indicate’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīcōWiktionary, Latin contradico‘to say, speak’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontrādīcōWiktionary, English contradict‘speak against’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontrādictusWiktionary, English contradict‘contradicted’past participle of contrādīcō
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1595contradictWiktionary, English contradict. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1595, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet: “A greater power than we can contradict Hath thwarted…”
The story
Derived from Latin contrādictus (‘contradicted’), the past participle of contrādīcō (‘speak against’) (originally two words).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- ‘to show’
teach, toe, token, digit, indicative, syndicate, tache, syndicalism, 34 more
through Proto-Italic *deikō ‘to show, indicate’
indexation, interdiction, 18 more
through Latin dīcō ‘to say, speak’
index, indicate, preach, indication, indicator, predict, dedication, dictionary, dedicate, dictator, ditto, dictate, addict, predicament, predicate, ditty, diction, dictum, interdict, indicia, 25 more
Today it means
verb To deny the truth or validity of (a statement or statements).
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “contradict”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *déyḱeti, Latin dico, Latin contradico. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- / contradict