dictate

English

Etymology

From Latin dictātus, perfect passive participle of dictō (“pronounce or declare repeatedly; dictate”), frequentative of dīcō (“say, speak”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˌdɪkˈteɪt/
• (US) IPA: /ˈdɪkˌteɪt/

  Rhymes: -eɪt

Noun

dictate (plural dictates)

1. An order or command.

   I must obey the dictates of my conscience.

Translations

an order or command

Bulgarian: заповед (bg) f., нареждане (bg) n., диктат (bg) m. German: Diktat (de) n., Gebot (de) n.

Hungarian: parancs (hu), diktátum (hu) Portuguese: ordem (pt) f., comando (pt) m.

Verb

dictate (third-person singular simple present dictates, present participle dictating, simple past and past participle dictated)

1. To order, command, control.
   • 2001, Sydney I. Landau, Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography, Cambridge University Press (ISBN 0-521-78512-X), page 409,

     Trademark Owners will nevertheless try to dictate how their marks are to be represented, but dictionary publishers with spine can resist such pressure.

2. To speak in order for someone to write down the words.

   She is dictating a letter to a stenographer.

   The French teacher dictated a passage from Victor Hugo.

Derived terms

• dictation
• dictator

Translations

to order, command, control

Bulgarian: командвам (bg), нареждам (bg) Finnish: sanella (fi) German: diktieren (de), bestimmen (de), vorschreiben (de)

Hebrew: הכתיב (he) (hikhtív) Hungarian: diktál (hu) Portuguese: ordenar (pt), comandar (pt), controlar (pt) Tagalog: diktahan (tl)

to speak in order for someone to write down the words

Bulgarian: диктувам (bg) Czech: diktovat (cs) Finnish: sanella (fi)

German: diktieren (de) Hebrew: הכתיב (he) (hikhtív) Hungarian: diktál (hu), tollba mond (hu) Portuguese: ditar (pt)

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Latin

Participle

dictāte

1. vocative masculine singular of dictātus