dictation
UK[dɪkˈteɪʃən]US[dɪkˈteɪʃən]
n
The act of speaking words that someone writes down or a machine records
n
A test in which a piece of text is read aloud for students to write down
n
The act of giving orders or commands in an authoritative way
Morpheme Breakdown
dict
ation
dict
say
ation
noun suffix
Etymology
The word dictation originates from the Latin verb dictare, a frequentative form of dicere, meaning 'to say' or 'to declare'. This root, dic-, is traceable to the Proto-Indo-European deik-, which carried the sense of 'to show' or 'to pronounce solemnly'. The suffix -ation was added to form a noun describing the action or result of dictating. Thus, the literal concept of 'the act of saying (words for transcription or command)' evolved directly into its modern meanings, encompassing the process of speaking for transcription, the test based on it, and the authoritative issuing of orders.
Analysis
Structure: dict (say) + ation (noun suffix)
dict (from Latin dictare, meaning 'to say, to declare'); ation (from Latin -ationem, a suffix forming nouns of action or state).
Examples
The secretary took dictation from the manager during the meeting.
We had a French dictation in class today to test our listening and spelling.
The country was ruled by the dictation of a military council.