Where does “ditto” come from?
Ditto comes from Italian ditto, the past participle of Italian detto, derived from Latin dictus, the past participle of Latin dicere meaning "to say," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European deyḱ-.
ditto (English): That which was stated before, the aforesaid, the...
Definitions
- That which was stated before, the aforesaid, the...
Ancestry of “ditto”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italian | ditto | — |
| 2 | Italian | detto | past participle of dire; past participle of... |
| 3 | Latin | dictus | said, uttered; mentioned, spoken, having been... |
| 4 | Latin | dīcō | to say, talk, speak, utter, mention |
| 5 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 6 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 7 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 8 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 9 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 10 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 11 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 12 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |