dictator

English

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• dictatour (obsolete)

Etymology

From Latin dictātor ‎(“a chief magistrate”), from dictō ‎(“dictate, prescribe”), from dīcō ‎(“say, speak”).

Surface analysis is dictate +‎ -or ‎(“(agent)”) “one who dictates”.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪkˈteɪtə(ɹ)/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈdɪkteɪtəɹ/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

Noun

dictator ‎(plural dictators)

1. A totalitarian leader of a country, nation, or government
2. Originally, a magistrate without colleague in republican ancient Rome, who held full executive authority for a term granted by the senate (legislature), typically to conduct a war
3. A tyrannical boss, or authority figure
4. A person who dictates text (e.g. letters to a clerk)
5. A ruler or Führer, the highest level of authority.

Related terms

• dictate
• dictatorial
• dictatorship

Translations

totalitarian leader of a dictatorship

• Arabic: دِكْتَاتُور m ‎(diktātūr), دِكْتَاتُور m ‎(diktātūr)
• Armenian: բռնապետ (hy) ‎(bṙnapet)
• Belarusian: дыкта́тар m ‎(dyktátar)
• Breton: ^{(please verify)} diktatour m
• Bulgarian: дикта́тор (bg) m ‎(diktátor)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 獨裁者 (zh), 独裁者 ‎(dúcáizhě)

• Czech: diktátor (cs) m
• Dutch: dictator (nl) m
• Esperanto: diktatoro
• Estonian: diktaator
• Finnish: diktaattori (fi)
• French: dictateur (fr) m
• German: Diktator (de) m
• Greek: δικτάτορας (el) m ‎(diktátoras)
• Hebrew: דיקטאטור m ‎(diqt'at'or)
• Hungarian: diktátor (hu)
• Icelandic: einræðiherra m
• Italian: dittatore (it) m
• Japanese: 独裁者 ‎(どくさいしゃ, dokusaisha)

• Korean: 독재자 (ko) ‎(dokjaeja) (獨裁者 (ko))
• Latin: dictator m
• Macedonian: дикта́тор m ‎(diktátor)
• Norman: dictateur m (Jersey)
• Persian: دیکتاتور (fa) ‎(diktâtor)
• Polish: dyktator (pl) m
• Portuguese: ditador (pt) m, ditadora f
• Romanian: dictator (ro) m, dictatori m pl
• Russian: дикта́тор (ru) m ‎(diktátor)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: диктатор m

  Roman: diktator (sh) m

• Slovene: diktator (sl) m
• Spanish: dictador (es) m, dictadora f
• Swahili: dikteta (sw)
• Swedish: diktator (sv) c
• Tagalog: diktador
• Turkish: diktatör (tr)
• Ukrainian: дикта́тор m ‎(dyktátor)
• Vietnamese: kẻ độc tài

tyrannical boss, or authority figure

• Finnish: diktaattori (fi)
• Greek: δικτάτορας (el) m ‎(diktátoras)
• Portuguese: ditador (pt) m

• Russian: дикта́тор (ru) m ‎(diktátor)
• Swahili: dikteta (sw)
• Swedish: diktator (sv) c, envåldshärskare c

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

dictator m ‎(plural dictatoren or dictators, diminutive dictatortje n)

1. dictator (bossy senses)

Synonyms

• despot
• dwingeland
• tiran

Related terms

• dictaat
• dictatoriaal
• dictatuur

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Latin

Etymology

dictō ‎(“I dictate”) +‎ -tor

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /dikˈtaː.tor/

Noun

dictātor m ‎(genitive dictātōris); third declension

1. an elected chief magistrate
2. one who dictates.

Inflection

Third declension.

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	dictātor	dictātōrēs
genitive	dictātōris	dictātōrum
dative	dictātōrī	dictātōribus
accusative	dictātōrem	dictātōrēs
ablative	dictātōre	dictātōribus
vocative	dictātor	dictātōrēs

Derived terms

• dictātōrius
• dictātrīx
• dictātūra

Related terms

• dīcō
• dictāmen
• dictāta
• dictātiō
• dictātiuncula
• dictiō

• dictiōsus
• dictitō
• dictō
• dictum
• dictus

Descendants

• English: dictator
• French: dictateur
• Italian: dittatore
• Polish: dyktator
• Russian: дикта́тор ‎(diktátor)

References

• dictator in Charlton T. Lewis & Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• dictator in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• DICTATOR in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• dictator in Félix Gaffiot (1934), Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
• Meissner, Carl; Auden, Henry William (1894) Latin Phrase-Book^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to name a person dictator: dictatorem dicere (creare)
    
  • a dictator appoints a magister equitum: dictator dicit (legit) magistrum equitum
    
• dictator in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• dictator in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin