Definition of dictate

The word "dictate" has its roots in Latin. The verb "dictare" means "to say" or "to speak," and it's a combination of "dix," the third person singular perfect tense of "doceo," meaning "to teach," and "cat," which is the inflectional ending used to form verbs. In Latin, "dictare" means "to say something publicly" or "to pronounce judgment." The word "dictate" was borrowed into Middle English from Old French "diktat," which was derived from Latin "dictare." Initially, the word meant "to recite" or "to read aloud," but over time its meaning expanded to include the sense of "to speak to be written down" or "to give instructions orally." Today, "dictate" is used to describe the act of giving oral instructions to be written or recorded, often in a formal or authoritative context.