Wiktionary

dictator

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English

 
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Alternative forms

Etymology

From Latin dictātor (“a chief magistrate”), from dictō (“dictate, prescribe”), from dīcō (“say, speak”). By surface analysis, dictate +‎ -or, literally “one who dictates”.

Pronunciation

Noun

dictator (plural dictators)

  1. A totalitarian leader of a country, nation, or government.
    • 1971, Lyndon Johnson, “A Time of Testing: Crises in the Caribbean”, in The Vantage Point‎[1], Holt, Reinhart & Winston, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 188:
      The Dominicans had lived for thirty years under the iron-fisted rule of dictator Leonidas Trujillo. During those years, which ended with Trujillo's assassination in 1961, those who opposed Trujillo had three choices: to go into exile, to go underground, or to remain quiet. Most Dominicans had chosen the third course.
    • 2019, (Existential Comics), 29 January, 9:27 AM Tweet:
      Dictator, noun : someone who doesn't let American CEOs dictate how their country is run
    • 2023 June 21, Trevor Hunnicutt, Ryan Woo, quoting Joe Biden, “China hits back after Biden calls Xi a 'dictator'”, in Reuters‎[2], archived from the original on 22 June 2023:
      "The reason why Xi Jinping got very upset in terms of when I shot that balloon down with two box cars full of spy equipment in it was he didn't know it was there," Biden said.
      "That's a great embarrassment for dictators. When they didn't know what happened. That wasn't supposed to be going where it was. It was blown off course," Biden said.
  2. (history) A magistrate without colleague in republican Ancient Rome, who held full executive authority for a term granted by the senate (legislature), typically to conduct a war.
  3. A tyrannical boss or authority figure.
  4. Misspelling of dictater.

Derived terms

Translations

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dictātor.

Pronunciation

Noun

dictator m (plural dictatoren or dictators, diminutive dictatortje n)

  1. dictator (tyrant, despot)
    Synonyms: despoot, dwingeland, tiran
  2. (historical) dictator (Roman magistrate with expanded powers)

Latin

Etymology

From dictō (“I dictate”) +‎ -tor.

Pronunciation

Noun

dictātor m (genitive dictātōris); third declension

  1. an elected chief magistrate
  2. one who dictates.

Declension

Third-declension noun.

singular plural
nominative dictātor dictātōrēs
genitive dictātōris dictātōrum
dative dictātōrī dictātōribus
accusative dictātōrem dictātōrēs
ablative dictātōre dictātōribus
vocative dictātor dictātōrēs

Derived terms

Descendants

References

  • “dictator”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • “dictator”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • dictator in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
  • dictator in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
  • Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎[3], London: Macmillan and Co.
    • to name a person dictator: dictatorem dicere (creare)
    • a dictator appoints a magister equitum: dictator dicit (legit) magistrum equitum
  • “dictator”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • “dictator”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French dictateur, Latin dictātor. Equivalent to dicta +‎ -tor.

Noun

dictator m (plural dictatori)

  1. dictator
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