dictationn.
/dɪkˈteɪʃn/, U.S. /dɪkˈteɪʃən/ 1. Something which has been dictated; a pronouncement; a text or passage which has been given out and written down.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > [noun] > dictation > something dictated
dictate1581
dictationa1624
a1624 R. Crakanthorpe Vigilius Dormitans (1631) viii. 76 By his dictation, or Epistle, Ibas was declared to be a catholike.
1663 E. Waterhouse Fortescutus Illustratus xxix. 392 To observe every voice of God, either in his Word, by his Spirit, or of his Rod, and to follow the dictations of it.
1774 W. Allen Amer. Crisis p. iii The sentiments he offers..are of his private opinion, and not the dictations of any person.
1793 W. Taplin Gentleman's Stable Directory (ed. 3) II. 67 Implicitly transmitting to succeeding generations, the immaculate purity of their dictations.
1841–8 F. Myers Catholic Thoughts II. iii. §32. 116 Had they been the very dictations of the Almighty.
1848 Rep. 17th Meeting Brit. Assoc. Advancem. Sci. 1847 Notices & Abstr. 126 The dictations of these youths amounted to a sufficiency of material for the addition of several important data to African philology.
1929 Sci. Monthly Nov. 418/1 Scholasticism enforced the verbal memorization of dictations justifying abstract theological dogmas.
1968 C. M. Vines Little Nut-brown Man iv. 73 He dictated into the soundscriber, and handed to me the papers referred to in his dictation.
2000 J. W. Cook Wittgenstein, Empiricism & Lang. i. iii. 24 From 1933 onward Wittgenstein began many of his writings, lectures, and dictations with this same, antirealist, message.
2.
a. The action of dictate v. 1; the utterance of words in order that they may be transcribed (by writing, typing, etc.); (occasionally) an instance of this.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > [noun] > dictation
dictating1612
dictate1642
dictation1648
1648 C. Kinner Contin. Mr. J. A. Comenius School-endeavours To Rdr. sig. A4v The drift of my Invention for Teaching is, That all Things Necessary to be known may be instilled into Learners without..the ill Custome of Dictations.
1660 S. Fisher Rusticus ad Academicos iii. 142 Without that immediate inspiration or dictation of every Iota or Tittle to them, as thou Tatlest somewhere, from the holy Spirit of God.
1694 E. Phillips Life Milton in tr. J. Milton Lett. of State p. xix The writing from his own dictation..of a Tractate.
1727 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. II Dictation, a pronouncing or dictating of any Thing to another Man to be written by him.
1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1784 II. 37 Dictation..would be performed as speedily as an amanuensis could write.
1842 H. Rogers Introd. Burke's Wks. (1842) I. 8 Sketches, either actually written by himself or at his dictation.
1868 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest II. viii. 267 By some evident slip of dictation or copying, Neel is made..to defend himself at Brionne instead of Guy.
1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues I. 10 I will write out the charm from your dictation.
1917 W. Churchill Dwelling-place of Light vi. 98 There were moments when..he paused in his dictation to stare at her in astonishment.
1962 Asian Surv. 1 xii. 5 The data were written down by the candidate, or according to his dictation in his presence.
2003 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 21 June ii. 4/5 She talks to the computer at the same rate of dictation and can edit her words as they appear on the screen.
b. The transcription of a dictated passage, esp. one in a foreign language, as a school exercise; a passage transcribed in this way.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > learning > study > subject or object of study > [noun] > exercises or homework
lesson?c1225
renderc1380
vulgars1520
practicec1541
theme1545
example1562
tax1564
repetition1579
exercise1612
praxis1612
recreation1633
pensum1667
vacation-exercisea1668
version1711
task1737
thesisa1774
dictation1789
challenging1825
holiday task1827
devoir1849
homework1852
vulgus1857
cram-book1858
rep1858
banco1862
prep1866
classwork1867
preparation1875
work card1878
vacation-task1904
1789 E. Wynne Diary 18 Aug. in A. Fremantle Wynne Diaries (1935) I. 1 Mademoiselle Eberts gave us our dictation as Mons. Fries is away.
1854 E. Ruskin Let. 4 Feb. in M. Lutyens Millais & Ruskins (1967) 133 I hear Sophie practise an hour, then her spelling, Dictation, arithmetic.
1892 School Inspector's Rep. in S. E. Ellacott Everyday Things in England 1914–68 (1968) vi. 86 Dictation in the second and fourth Standards needs attention.
1969 N. Freeling Tsing-Boum xix. 138 Four large horrible faults in your dictation... Write it out again.
1993 F. Collymore Mark learns another Lesson 83 You sat at your desk and wrote Dictation, or worked out Sums on slates.
3.
a. Authoritative utterance or prescription; the making of a pronouncement or stipulation; †command, bidding (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > command > command or bidding > [noun] > ordinance, prescription, or appointment > an ordinance or authoritative utterance
setnessc950
sandc1000
edict1297
statutec1300
proclamationa1325
justifyinga1382
rescritec1384
decree?a1400
thewsc1400
justification?a1475
ordinationc1499
dictamena1513
golden bull1537
dictate1604
process1604
dictament1615
dictation1651
fiata1750
diktat1941
1651 J. Tatham Distracted State iv. i. 25/2 How am I Bound to the Gods for their superlative goodness, That here an offering of Mercy meets me By their Dictation.
a1656 Bp. J. Hall Shaking of Olive-tree (1660) ii. 148 Heresies..maintained to the death under pretence of the dictation and warrant of Gods spirit.
1785 W. Paley Princ. Moral & Polit. Philos. vi. v. 447 It affords a probable security against the dictation of laws, imposing arbitrary and superfluous restrictions upon his private will.
1844 B. Disraeli Coningsby I. ii. i. 158 The terms were at his own dictation.
1885 Times 24 July 13/1 The subsequent capture of the city of Mexico and the dictation of terms of peace by the victors ended the war.
1935 Port Arthur (Texas) News 23 Nov. 4/2 ‘The will of the people’ should prevail in the dictation of laws for the protection of all interests and all people.
1977 World Bk. Encycl. XIX. 4/2 The monopoly of the game by these two companies and their dictation of rules and equipment led to a revolt by internationally organized players in 1921.
1995 G. W. Breslauer in G. W. Lapidus New Russia vii. 234 Western hostility, or condescending dictation of terms, would likely have a negative impact on democratic state-building and nation-building.
b. Arbitrary command; dictatorial action or behaviour; the exercise of dictatorship.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > oppression > [noun] > domineering or overbearing
lording?a1425
masterdomc1475
imperiousness1582
domineering1617
dictatoring1644
overbearing1649
magisteriousness1650
magisterialness1651
high-handednessa1658
peremptoriness1699
dictation1769
overbearingnessa1797
dictatorialism1826
bashawism1839
dictatorialness1845
domineeringness1889
overmasterfulness1899
bossiness1928
overdoggery1962
1769 H. L. Luttrell Let. 18 Apr. in Cambr. Mag. Apr. 148/2 You have..endeavoured to rescue your country from dictation, and disorder.
1802 Times 15 Oct. 2/1 Well calculated to..unite the subjects of every State in the common cause of delivering their country from foreign dictation.
1856 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. I. 188 It would have probably been unsafe for the crown to attempt dictation or repression.
1861 T. E. May Constit. Hist. Eng. (1863) II. x. 220 No sooner has the dictation of any journal..become too pronounced, than [etc.].
1931 F. L. Allen Only Yesterday vii. 176 In general the country extended its empire not by military conquest or political dictation, but by financial penetration.
1975 Rev. Afr. Polit. Econ. No. 4. 58 Today, the Amin dictatorship is purely and simply a dictation by arms.
2005 J. Keep in A. Litvin & J. Keep Stalinism x. 158 Political dictation in the social sciences was not just imposed on the learned community from outside but was to some extent actively self-inflicted.
Compounds
C1. General attributive (in sense 2).
ΚΠ
1822 Times 5 Jan. 4/1 (advt.) Dictation exercises, with suitable orthographical instructions.
1853 C. M. Yonge Heir of Redclyffe I. x. 169 Laura and Eveleen are making a dictation lesson agreeable to Charlotte.
1894 Westm. Gaz. 23 Feb. 6/3 A dictation cylinder will contain from 1,000 to 1,200 words.
1954 W. W. Grings Lab. Instrumentation Psychol. iv. 116 An office dictation recorder usually incorporates special stop and automatic throwback features to facilitate transcription.
2004 A. Amoia & B. L. Knapp Multicultural Writers since 1945 35 A French romantic author with servants, dictation typists, and an aristocratic wife.
C2.
dictation speed n. the speed at which a secretary, etc., is expected to be able to take dictation; a rate of speech suitable for dictation.
ΚΠ
1915 Lincoln (Nebraska) Sunday Star 5 Dec. 9/3 The requirements for graduation must be as follows:..Grade of 90 per cent on the theory of shorthand. Dictation speed of 100 words per minute,..98 per cent accuracy.
1957 H. Nicolson Let. 21 Feb. (1968) III. 332 ‘Has your husband joined you,’ asked Vita at dictation-speed, ‘or is he still in Formosa?’
2003 N. Smart Brit. Strategy & Politics during Phony War vii. 240 He proceeded to read out the resolution his executive had adopted at dictation speed.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.a1624