ditto English · revision 1907

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈdɪtəʊ/ ''(UK)''; /ˈdɪtoʊ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|it|ditto]], Tuscan dialect for standard Italian ''detto'' “said”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) past participle of ''dire'' “to say”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|la|dicere|t=to say]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) It is related to [[dictum]] and [[diction]].^(RHWU)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the said month, in a series of dates (1625).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Italian used the word to avoid repeating month names in dates, and it was picked up in English in this use.^(AHD)^(Etymonline) By the 1670s (1678) it had come to mean “the aforesaid, the same”, used in accounts and lists.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Other uses followed: “to say ditto”, to agree with someone (1775);^(OED 1989) a suit of clothes of one material and color (1755);^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and a duplicate or copy (1776 in the OED, 1818 in the AHD).^(OED 1989)^(AHD) ''Ditto'' later became a trademark for a duplicating machine.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1625 – in the said month.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(AHD)

+ * 1678 – the same as above.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1706 – adverb, as before.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1755 – a suit of dittos.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1776 – a duplicate; adjective, similar.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1837–40 – verb, to duplicate.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The same as stated above or before.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[duplicate]] or copy.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[ditto mark]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # As before; likewise.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To repeat the action or statement of another.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To make a copy of, especially on a [[duplicator]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Interjection===

+ # Said to agree with what another person has just said.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[diction]]

+ * [[dictum]]

+ * [[ditty]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}