ditto

Meanings

1. 1
   adv

   in the same way; with the same statement applying to what follows

   The front room needs repainting, and ditto the hall.

2. 2
   intj

   used informally to say that one agrees or has the same feeling or experience

   Lena said ditto when I admitted that I was exhausted.

3. 3
   noun

   a mark indicating that a word or figure above should be repeated

   The clerk used a ditto to repeat the address in the next row.

Simplified etymology

Ditto comes from a Tuscan dialect form of Italian detto, “said,” itself from Latin dictus. In 17th-century Italian it was used in the expression meaning “in the aforesaid month,” and English merchants adopted it in accounts and lists to indicate that an item should be repeated. By the later 18th century, clothiers and tailors also used it to mean “the same material.”

From regional Italian ditto, a variant of detto, 'said,' the past participle of dire, from Latin dicere, 'to say.' English merchants adopted it in account books to mean 'the aforesaid' and avoid repeating an entry. The agreement interjection and broader 'same' uses developed from that shorthand.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary