English
indicial
Indicial comes from Latin dīcō ‘to say, indicate’, from Proto-Indo-European *déyḱeti ‘to be pointing out’, and ultimately from *deyḱ-.
- 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, indicate’
- Englishtodayindicial2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin index
- 2 Wiktionary, English indicial
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deyḱ-Wiktionary, Latin index‘to point out, to show’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déyḱetiWiktionary, Latin index‘to be pointing out’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*deikōWiktionary, Latin index‘to show, indicate’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīcōWiktionary, Latin index‘to say, indicate’
- EnglishtodayindicialWiktionary, English indicial
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’
interdiction, indexation, 18 more
through Latin dīcō ‘to say, indicate’
index, dictionary, predict, preach, dedication, dictator, addict, contradictory, dictate, contradiction, dedicate, ditto, contradict, predicament, predicate, ditty, diction, dictum, interdict, dict, 25 more
Today it means
adj Of or pertaining to an indicia; indicative
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “indicial”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin index. 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- / indicial