English
indication
Indication comes from Latin indicātiō ‘a showing, indicating the value of something’, from dīcō ‘to say, talk, speak, utter, mention’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- ‘to point out, to show’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deyḱ-1‘to point out, to show’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déyḱeti1‘to be pointing out’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*deikō1‘to show, indicate’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīcō1‘to say, talk, speak, utter, mention’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEindex1‘a pointer, indicator’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEindicō2‘point out, indicate, show’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEindicātiō2‘a showing, indicating the value of something’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400indication2
- Englishearliest quotation 1627indication2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin indico
- 2 Wiktionary, English indication
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1627, Francis Bacon, Sylva Sylvarum: Or a Natural History: “For the indication either proceeds from one experiment to…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deyḱ-Wiktionary, Latin indico‘to point out, to show’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déyḱetiWiktionary, Latin indico‘to be pointing out’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*deikōWiktionary, Latin indico‘to show, indicate’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīcōWiktionary, Latin indico‘to say, talk, speak, utter, mention’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEindexWiktionary, Latin indico‘a pointer, indicator’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEindicōWiktionary, English indication‘point out, indicate, show’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEindicātiōWiktionary, English indication‘a showing, indicating the value of something’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400indicationWiktionary, English indication
- Englishearliest quotation 1627indicationWiktionary, English indication. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1627, Francis Bacon, Sylva Sylvarum: Or a Natural History: “For the indication either proceeds from one experiment to…”
Equivalent to indicate + -ion
Latin dicō ‘to declare, (originally) to point’
Latin indicō ‘to point out, indicate’
Latin indicātus ‘indicated, pointed out’
English indicate
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- ‘to point out, to show’
teach, toe, token, digit, syndicate, tache, syndicalism, 35 more
through Proto-Italic *deikō ‘to show, indicate’
contradiction, interdiction, 18 more
through Latin dīcō ‘to say, talk, speak, utter, mention’
predict, preach, dictionary, addict, dictator, ditto, contradictory, dictate, dedication, contradict, dedicate, predicament, ditty, predicate, dictum, interdict, diction, dict, 25 more
through Latin index ‘a pointer, indicator’
through Latin indicō ‘point out, indicate, show’
Today it means
noun An act of pointing out or indicating.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “indication”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin indico. 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- / indication