Dicitur

Dicitur is the third-person singular present passive indicative form of the Latin verb dicere, meaning “to say.” In ordinary English rendering, it is commonly translated as “it is said,” or more loosely as “they say” or “one says.” The phrase is frequently used without a clear subject, making it a generic way to attribute a claim to others or to traditional authorities rather than to the speaker.

Usage and function: Dicitur functions as a hedging or reporting verb. It introduces statements attributed to sources, authorities, or common belief rather than asserted directly by the author. It can govern clauses introduced by quod (Dicitur quod Caesar venit – “It is said that Caesar came”) or appear with other indirect-speech constructions. The expression is abundant in both classical and medieval Latin, as well as in scholastic and lexical writings, where it helps present contested or uncertain information with appropriate caution.

Grammatical notes: Dicitur is the present passive indicative, 3rd person singular. Related forms include dicor (1st person singular), dici (present passive infinitive), and the perfect passive participle dictus (dicta, dictum, etc.). The passive voice in Latin often expresses witness or reported speech, with the agent sometimes left unspecified or conveyed by a phrase such as a/ab + ablative agent.

Examples and nuance: In Latin, dicitur often signals literary or rhetorical distance, inviting the reader to consider the claim as reported rather than endorsed. It appears in legal, scientific, and encyclopedic Latin where authors summarize prevailing opinions, authorities, or received wisdom. While similar in function to “it is said” in English, dicitur carries a sense of conventional attribution more than a definite assertion by the speaker.