Etymograph

English

contradiction

Contradiction comes from Latin contrādictiō ‘the act of contradicting’, from contrādīcō ‘speak against’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- ‘to show’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deyḱ-1‘to show’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déyḱeti2‘to show, point out’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*deikō2‘to show, indicate’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīcō3‘to say, speak’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontrādīcō4‘speak against’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontrādictiō4‘the act of contradicting’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400contradiction4
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500contradiccioun4
  9. Englishtodaycontradiction4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *déyḱeti
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin dico
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin contradico
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English contradiction

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deyḱ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *déyḱeti‘to show’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déyḱetiWiktionary, Latin dico‘to show, point out’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*deikōWiktionary, Latin dico‘to show, indicate’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīcōWiktionary, Latin contradico‘to say, speak’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontrādīcōWiktionary, English contradiction‘speak against’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontrādictiōWiktionary, English contradiction‘the act of contradicting’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400contradictionWiktionary, English contradiction
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500contradicciounWiktionary, English contradiction
  9. EnglishtodaycontradictionWiktionary, English contradiction

Linked words

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

teach, toe, token, digit, syndicate, indicative, syndicalism, tache, 34 more

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

indexation, interdiction, 17 more

through Latin dīcō ‘to say, speak’

index, indicate, preach, indicator, predict, indication, dedication, dictionary, dictator, dedicate, ditto, dictate, addict, predicament, predicate, ditty, dictum, interdict, indicia, dict, 25 more

Today it means

noun The act of contradicting.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “contradiction”; 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- / contradiction

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