Etymology

dictator

dic·ta·tor
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Today it means: An authoritarian leader of a country, nation, or government. Full definition →

Latin dictātor ← Proto-Italic *deikō ← Proto-Indo-European *déyḱeti
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*deyḱ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*déyḱeti
  3. Proto-Italic*deikō
  4. Latindīcō
  5. Latindictō
  6. Latindictātor
  7. English todaydictator

Borrowed from Latin dictātor (“a chief magistrate”), from dictō (“dictate, prescribe”), from dīcō (“say, speak”). By surface analysis, dictate + -or, literally “one who dictates”. Compare Old English tictator (“absolute ruler of the Roman Republic”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.