"to say, to tell" in seven languages
Meaningto say, to tell
Spanish
/deˈθiɾ/
inherited
French
/diʁ/
inherited
Italian
/ˈdire/
inherited
Short for older dicere, whose stem returns in dico, dicevo, detto.
Portuguese
/dʒiˈzeh/
inherited
Romanian
/ˈzitʃe/
inherited
Just as common is spune, from EXPŌNERE 'to set out'.
Catalan
/di/
inherited
English
/seɪ/
native English · Old English secgan
The Latin ancestor
DĪCERE‘to say’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
French and Italian both shrank DĪCERE to dire; Spanish kept the c (as θ) and moved the verb to the -ir class. The past participles are triplets: dicho, dit, detto (DICTUM).
English relatives: diction, dictate, predict, verdict, contradict
Learn it
In a sentence
- es¿Qué ha dicho?
- frQu'est-ce qu'il a dit ?
- itCosa ha detto?
- ptO que ele disse?
- roCe-a zis?
- caQuè ha dit?
- enWhat did he say?
The Latin family
DĪC-, DICT-· say
DĪCERE and its participle DICTUM gave the everyday 'say' and 'said' in all three sisters. The learned branch kept -CT- (dictar, dicter, dictionary), and Italian shows the Latin -CT- → -tt- rule in both its inherited detto and its inherited-looking dettare. Romanian zice turns D before i into z, as it regularly does (DEUM → zeu 'god').
DĪCEREto say
esdecirfrdireitdireptdizerrozicecadir
DICTUMsaid; a saying
esdichofrdititdettoptditocaditenditto
DICTĀREto say repeatedly, dictate
esdictarfrdicteritdettareptditarrodictacadictarendictate
DICTIŌNĀRIUM (Medieval Latin)a book of words
esdiccionariofrdictionnaireitdizionarioptdicionáriorodicționarcadiccionariendictionary
BENEDĪCEREto speak well of, bless
esbendecirfrbéniritbenedireptbendizercabeneirenbenediction