dictate
verbUK /(ˌ)dɪkˈteɪt/ · US /ˈdɪkˌteɪt/
Etymology First attested in 1577; borrowed from Latin dictātus, perfect passive participle of dictō (“to pronounce or declare repeatedly; to dictate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), frequentative of dīcō (“say, speak”).
1
To order, command, control.
- Etiquette dictates that wedding invitations should be acknowledged in writing.
- Trademark Owners will nevertheless try to dictate how their marks are to be represented, but dictionary publishers with spine can resist such pressure.2001, Sydney I. Landau, Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 409:
2
To speak in order for someone to write down the words.
- She is dictating a letter to a stenographer.
- The French teacher dictated a passage from Victor Hugo.
3
To determine or decisively affect.
- He had offered, and been refused! There was that in her own nature, which sympathised with the pride, for such she held to be the motive, dictating the refusal.1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Return to Courtenaye Hall”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 151:
- Geology dictates the approximate location of the tunnel.1961 December, “The Channel Tunnel—a realistic proposal”, in Trains Illustrated, page 723:
1 more example
- I didn't lay this bar, or the restaurant for that matter, out on paper. The design was dictated by the materials.1977 August 20, David Holland, quoting Tony Bosco, “Tony Bosco”, in Gay Community News, volume 5, number 7, page 19:
- Derived terms
- dictatable, dictater, dictatingly, misdictate, redictate, undictated, undictating
- Related terms
- dictation, dictator, dictatress, dictatoress, dictatrix