dictionary
- dictionary
\ \ [16] The term dictionary was coined in medieval Latin, probably in the 13th century, on the basis of the Latin adjective dictionārius ‘of words’, a derivative of Latin dictiō ‘saying’, or, in medieval Latin, ‘word’. English picked it up comparatively late; the first known reference to it is in The pilgrimage of perfection 1526: ‘and so Peter Bercharius [Pierre Bercheur, a 15thcentury French lexicographer] in his dictionary describeth it’.
\ \ Latin dictiō (source also of English diction [15]) was a derivatives of the verb dicere ‘say’.
\ \ Its original meaning was ‘point out’ rather than ‘utter’, as demonstrated by its derivative indicāre (source of English indicate) and words in other languages, such as Greek deiknúnai ‘show’, Sanskrit diç- ‘show’ (later ‘say’), and German zeihen ‘accuse’, which come from the same ultimate source. Its past participle gave English dictum [16], and the derived verb dictāre ‘assert’ produced English dictate [17] and dictator [14].
\ \ It has been the basis of a wide range of other English words, from the more obvious derivatives like addict and predict to more heavily disguised offspring such as condition, index, and judge.
\ \ Cf.⇒ ADDICT, CONDITION, DICTATE, DICTION, DITTO, INDEX, INDICATE, JUDGE, PREDICT
Word origins - 2ed.
J. Ayto.
2005.
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Look at other dictionaries:
Dictionary — Dic tion*a*ry, n.; pl. {Dictionaries}. [Cf. F. dictionnaire. See {Diction}.] 1. A book containing the words of a language, arranged alphabetically, with explanations of their meanings; a lexicon; a vocabulary; a wordbook. [1913 Webster] I applied … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
dictionary — [dik′shə ner΄ē] n. pl. dictionaries [ML dictionarium < LL dictio: see DICTION] 1. a book of alphabetically listed words in a language, with definitions, etymologies, pronunciations, and other information; lexicon 2. a book of alphabetically… … English World dictionary
dictionary — 1520s, from M.L. dictionarium collection of words and phrases, from L. dictionarius of words, from dictio word (see DICTION (Cf. diction)). Probably first English use in title of a book was in Sir Thomas Elyot s Latin Dictionary (1538) though L.… … Etymology dictionary
Dictionary — (lat. dictio „das Sprechen“) steht für: ein dem englischen entlehntes Synonym für Wörterbuch ein Assoziatives Array Diese Seite … Deutsch Wikipedia
dictionary — [n] book of word meanings concordance, cyclopedia, encyclopedia, glossary, language, lexicon, palaver, promptory, reference, terminology, vocabulary; concept 280 … New thesaurus
dictionary — ► NOUN (pl. dictionaries) ▪ a book that lists the words of a language and gives their meaning, or their equivalent in a different language. ORIGIN from Latin dictionarium manuale or dictionarius liber manual or book of words … English terms dictionary
Dictionary — For other uses, see Dictionary (disambiguation). For Wikimedia s dictionary project visit Wiktionary, or see the Wiktionary article. A multi volume Latin dictionary by Egidio Forcellini. A dic … Wikipedia
dictionary — /dik sheuh ner ee/, n., pl. dictionaries. 1. a book containing a selection of the words of a language, usually arranged alphabetically, giving information about their meanings, pronunciations, etymologies, inflected forms, etc., expressed in… … Universalium
dictionary — Synonyms and related words: biographical dictionary, cant, chemical dictionary, desk dictionary, dialect dictionary, dictionary of quotations, electronics dictionary, etymological dictionary, foreign language dictionary, gazetteer, general… … Moby Thesaurus
dictionary — n. 1) to compile a dictionary 2) to expand; revise; update a dictionary 3) to consult a dictionary 4) an abridged, desk; bilingual; biographical; college, collegiate (AE); combinatorial, combinatory; dialect; etymological; general use, general… … Combinatory dictionary
Dictionary.co.uk — Home page of Dictionary.co.uk Dictionary.co.uk was launched in 2001 as an English language dictionary based around definitions from Cambridge University Press. In 2007 it was re launched to include not only a standard English language dictionary… … Wikipedia
