Lewis & Short

Parsing inflected forms may not always work as expected. If the following does not give the correct word, try Latin Words or Perseus.

dictātūra, ae, f. [dictator].

  1. I. The office of a dictator, dictatorship, Cic. Phil. 1, 1 fin.; id. Off. 3, 31, 112; * Caes. B. C. 3, 2; Liv. 6, 39; 7, 3 fin.; Quint. 3, 8, 53; Suet. Caes. 76; id. Aug. 52 et saep.
  2. * II. The work of dictating to pupils; only in a play upon the double meaning in the sentence: Sullam nescisse litteras, qui dictaturam deposuerit, Caes. ap. Suet. Caes. 77.

dicto, āvi, ātum, 1, v. freq. a. [2. dico], to say often; to pronounce, declare, or assert repeatedly.

  1. I. In gen. (very rare): rogarem te, ut diceres pro me tu idem, qui illis orationem dictavisses, Cic. Fin. 4, 22 fin.: mercemur servum qui dictet nomina, Hor. Ep. 1, 6, 50; cf. Gell. 4, 1, 2.
    Far more freq. and class.,
  2. II. In partic.
    1. A. To dictate to one for writing: quod non modo Tironi dictare, sed ne ipse quidem audere scribere, Cic. Att. 13, 9; 7, 13 b. fin.; 2, 23; Quint. 2, 4, 12; 10, 3, 18; Plin. Ep. 9, 36, 2; Hor. Ep. 1, 10, 49 et saep. So of the dictating of teachers (common for want of books): memini quae mihi parvo Orbilium dictare, Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 71; cf. id. Sat. 1, 10, 75.
      1. 2. Transf. As the practice of dictating came, in the course of time, to be very general (v. Gesner upon Quint. 10, 3, 18), dictare, since the Aug. per., acquired the signif. to express in written language, make, compose: elegidia, Pers. 1, 52; so, ducentos versus, Hor. S. 1, 4, 10: carmina (for which, shortly before and after, scribere), id. Ep. 2, 1, 110: codicillos, to draw up, make, Suet. Tib. 22; cf. testamentum, id. Ner. 32; hence also, summas, i. e. to dispose of by will, Dig. 32, 95; and in the pass.: non unus tibi rivalis dictabitur heres, appointed, designated, Juv. 6, 218; so, actionem, to draw up a declaration, Suet. Rhet. 2; and among jurists in gen., to bring an action, go to law, Dig. 15, 1, 50; also, judicium, ib. 9, 4, 22; 49, 9, 3 al.
    2. B. To prescribe, recommend, order, dictate (cf. 2. dico, no. I. B. 10; in this sense the primitive of dictator, although no ante-Aug. examples occur): sportulam, Quint. 11, 3, 131: dictataque jurant Sacramenta deis, Sil. 10, 448.
      1. 2. Transf., of abstract subjects: ita videtur ratio dictare, Quint. 3, 4, 11; cf. Dig. 1, 2, § 11: quibus sordet omne, quod natura dictavit, Quint. 8 prooem. § 26; so with acc., id. 1, 3, 16; 2, 15, 6; Plin. 26, 4, 9, § 20.
        Hence, dictāta, ōrum, n. (acc. to no. II. A.).
    1. A. Things dictated by the master to his scholars, i. e. lessons, exercises, rules, Cic. Q. Fr. 3, 1, 4; id. Fin. 4, 4, 10; id. N. D. 1, 26; id. Tusc. 2, 11, 96; Hor. Ep. 1, 1, 55; 1, 18, 13; Pers. 1, 29 al.
      Also, in gen.,
    2. B. Precepts, rules, e. g. for gladiators, Suet. Caes. 26; for mimes, Juv. 5, 122.