English
dict
Dict comes from Latin dictum ‘a word, saying, something said’, from dīcō ‘to say, to speak’, 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, to speak’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdictus3‘said, spoken’perfect passive participle of dīcō
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdictum4‘a word, saying, something said’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dicte4‘saying’
- Englishearliest quotation 1609dict4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *déyḱeti
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin dico
- 3 Wiktionary, Latin dictum
- 4 Wiktionary, English dict
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1609, Thomas Heywood, Canto. 11.: “In the deſcription of King Priams ſtate, we must…”.
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 dictum‘to say, to speak’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdictusWiktionary, Latin dictum‘said, spoken’perfect passive participle of dīcō
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdictumWiktionary, English dict‘a word, saying, something said’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dicteWiktionary, English dict‘saying’
- Englishearliest quotation 1609dictWiktionary, English dict. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1609, Thomas Heywood, Canto. 11.: “In the deſcription of King Priams ſtate, we must…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- ‘to show’
teach, toe, token, digit, indicative, syndicate, tache, syndicalism, 40 more
through Proto-Italic *deikō ‘to show, indicate’
through Latin dīcō ‘to say, to speak’
index, indicate, preach, indication, dedication, indicator, ditto, dedicate, contradictory, contradiction, predicament, predicate, ditty, interdiction, indicia, 30 more
Today it means
noun A saying; a statement.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “dict”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *déyḱeti, Latin dico, Latin dictum. 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- / dict