dictare

Dictare is a Latin verb meaning to dictate, to pronounce aloud for someone else to write down, and more broadly to utter or proclaim with authority, such as when commands or laws are issued. In broader usage, dictare can refer to both the act of transcription and the act of prescribing terms or conditions.

Etymology and forms: dictare belongs to the first conjugation. Its principal parts are commonly given as dictare, dictavi, dictatus (with dictatum as the supine). Like other -are verbs, it forms its tenses with the standard Latin endings. The sense of dictare is distinct from dicere, the general verb “to say,” in emphasizing transcription or authoritative command.

Usage: In classical Latin, dictare describes a scribe recording speech or a ruler issuing directives. It appears in legal, administrative, and rhetorical contexts, and can be used figuratively to mean dictating the terms of a contract or treaty. The noun dictatio (dictation) and related terms such as dictatus (having been dictated) or dictatorial derive from the same root.

Derivatives and later usage: From dictare descend English-derived terms such as dictation, dictator, and dictatorial, as well as Latin adjectives and participles such as dictatus. In Latin grammars and dictionaries, dictare is cited as a regular 1st-conjugation verb with a semantic range spanning transcription to proclamation.

In modern scholarship, dictare is chiefly encountered in discussions of Latin language, historical texts, and lexicography, rather than as a living verb in everyday Latin prose.