Etymograph

English

dictionary

Dictionary comes from Medieval Latin dictiōnārium, from Latin dictiō ‘a speaking’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- ‘to point out’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deyḱ-1‘to point out’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déyḱeti1‘to be pointing out’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*deikō1‘to show’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīcō1‘to speak’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdictiō1‘a speaking’perfect past participle of dīcō
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdictiōnārius1
  7. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500dictiōnārium1
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dixionare1
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1864dictionary1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English dictionary
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1864, The Alphabeticals: “They [dictionary-makers] may have had their romance at home—may…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deyḱ-Wiktionary, English dictionary‘to point out’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déyḱetiWiktionary, English dictionary‘to be pointing out’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*deikōWiktionary, English dictionary‘to show’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīcōWiktionary, English dictionary‘to speak’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdictiōWiktionary, English dictionary‘a speaking’perfect past participle of dīcō
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdictiōnāriusWiktionary, English dictionary
  7. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500dictiōnāriumWiktionary, English dictionary
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dixionareWiktionary, English dictionary
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1864dictionaryWiktionary, English dictionary. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1864, The Alphabeticals: “They [dictionary-makers] may have had their romance at home—may…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with dictionary, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- ‘to point out, to show’

  • teach ← techen ← tǣċan ← *taikijan ← *taikijaną
  • toe ← to ← tā ← *taihā ← *taihwǭ
  • token ← tācn ← *taikn ← *taikną
  • digit ← digitus
  • syndicate ← syndicat ← syndic ← syndicu ← σῠ́νδῐκος
  • indicative ← indicatif ← indicātīvus
  • tache ← *tacca ← 𐍄𐌰𐌹𐌺𐌽𐍃 ← *taiknaz
  • syndicalism ← syndicalisme ← syndical ← syndic ← syndicus

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

  • contradiction ← contradiccioun ← contrādictiō ← contrādīcō ← dīcō
  • interdiction ← interdictiō ← interdīcō ← dīcō
  • indexation ← indexer ← index ← index ← indicō

through Latin dīcō ‘to speak’

93 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun A reference work listing words or names from one or more languages, usually ordered alphabetically, explaining each term's meanings or senses, often also containing information on its etymology, pronunciation, usage, semantic relations, translations, as well as other relevant information.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dictionary”. 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- / dictionary