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ditto

Posted: Mon May 24, 2010 3:24 pm
by vacuumfoam
dit·to (dĭt'ō)
n. pl. dit·tos

1. The same as stated above or before.
2. A duplicate; a copy.
3. A pair of small marks ( " ) used to indicated that the word, phrase, or figure given above is to be repeated.

adv. As before.
tr.v. dit·toed, dit·to·ing, dit·tos
To duplicate (a document, for example).

[Italian dialectal, past participle of Italian dire, to say, from Latin dīcere; see deik- in Indo-European roots.]

Word History: Ditto, which at first glance seems a handy and insignificant sort of word, actually has a Roman past, for it comes from dictus, "having been said," the past participle of the verb dīcere, "to say." In Italian dīcere became dire and dictus became detto, or in the Tuscan dialect ditto. Italian detto or ditto meant what said does in English, as in the locution "the said story." Thus the word could be used in certain constructions to mean "the same as what has been said"; for example, having given the date December 22, one could use 26 detto or ditto for 26 December. The first recorded use of ditto in English occurs in such a construction in 1625. The sense "copy" is an English development, first recorded in 1818. Ditto has even become a trademark for a duplicating machine.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Posted: Mon May 24, 2010 6:38 pm
by Slava
What he said.

Posted: Mon May 24, 2010 8:05 pm
by vacuumfoam
Who said? Marcel Marceau?

Posted: Mon May 24, 2010 8:53 pm
by Slava
I think Marceau's most famous line was "Non!" In Mel Brooks' Silent Movie.

Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 9:55 am
by vacuumfoam
Quite probably. That's the only one I recall ever hearing him say, anyway.

BTW, the Marceau comment came about this way:

"What he said." --> mimic --> mime --> Marceau

The mind works in mysterious ways. (At least mine does.) ;)

Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 12:22 pm
by Slava
Ditto.

Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 4:09 pm
by Perry
Bien dit!