Origin and history of dictate

Middle English dighten, "to adorn," from Old English dihtan "dictate, appoint, ordain; guide; compose, set in order," an early borrowing from Latin dictare "to dictate" (see dictate (v.)).

The Latin word was borrowed earlier into continental Germanic, where it became Old High German dihton "to write compose," German dichten "to write poetry." It was so nativized in late Old English that it was used to gloss Latin dictator. In Middle English, dight exploded to a vast array of meanings (including "to rule," "to handle," "to abuse," "to have sex with," "to kill," "to clothe," "to make ready," "to repair") till it was one of the most-used verbs in the language, but all its senses have faded into obscurity or survive only in dialectal or poetic use.

"dictated peace," a severe settlement imposed on a defeated nation by a victorious one," 1933, from German Diktat "dictate," from Latin dictatum (see dictate (n.)).

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to show," also "pronounce solemnly," "also in derivatives referring to the directing of words or objects" [Watkins].

It might form all or part of: abdicate; abdication; addict; adjudge; apodictic; avenge; benediction; betoken; condition; contradict; contradiction; dedicate; deictic; deixis; dictate; diction; dictionary; dictum; digit; disk; ditto; ditty; edict; Eurydice; index; indicate; indication; indict; indiction; indictive; indite; interdict; judge; judicial; juridical; jurisdiction; malediction; malison; paradigm; policy (n.2) "written insurance agreement;" preach; predicament; predicate; predict; prejudice; revenge; soi-disant; syndic; teach; tetchy; theodicy; toe; token; valediction; vendetta; verdict; veridical; vindicate; vindication; voir dire.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit dic- "point out, show;" Greek deiknynai "to show, to prove," dikē "custom, usage;" Latin dicere "speak, tell, say," digitus "finger," Old High German zeigon, German zeigen "to show," Old English teon "to accuse," tæcan "to teach."