Etymologically
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ditto

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈdɪtəʊ/ (UK); /ˈdɪtoʊ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian ditto, Tuscan dialect for standard Italian detto “said”,[2][3][4][5][6] past participle of dire “to say”,[2][3][4][5] from Latin dicere (“to say”).[2][3][4][5][6] It is related to dictum and diction.[6][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the said month, in a series of dates (1625).[7][3][2]

Semantic evolution

Italian used the word to avoid repeating month names in dates, and it was picked up in English in this use.[2][4] By the 1670s (1678) it had come to mean “the aforesaid, the same”, used in accounts and lists.[7][3][4] Other uses followed: “to say ditto”, to agree with someone (1775);[7] a suit of clothes of one material and color (1755);[7][4] and a duplicate or copy (1776 in the OED, 1818 in the AHD).[7][2] Ditto later became a trademark for a duplicating machine.[2][5]

Timeline

  • 1625 – in the said month.[7][3][2]
  • 1678 – the same as above.[7][3]
  • 1706 – adverb, as before.[5]
  • 1755 – a suit of dittos.[7][4]
  • 1776 – a duplicate; adjective, similar.[7][5]
  • 1837–40 – verb, to duplicate.[7][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The same as stated above or before.
  2. A duplicate or copy.
  3. A ditto mark.

Adverb

  1. As before; likewise.

Verb

  1. To repeat the action or statement of another.
  2. To make a copy of, especially on a duplicator.

Interjection

  1. Said to agree with what another person has just said.
  • diction
  • dictum
  • ditty

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press