ditto
/ˈdɪtoʊ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.38 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The ditto mark, 〃; a symbol, represented by two apostrophes, inverted commas, or quotation marks (" "), indicating that the item preceding is to be repeated.
noun
A suit of clothes of the same color throughout.
noun
A copy made by (run off by) a ditto machine (especially, a worksheet thus reproduced).
adv
As said before, likewise.
Example Sentences
- "[...] they entered a dismal-looking parlour, whose brick-red walls and ditto curtains were scantily lighted by a single lamp, though it was of the last new patent—[…]"
- "[…]a spacious table in the centre, and a variety of smaller dittos in the corners:[…]"
- "Well say he's got the constitution of a dinosaur, recuperative powers ditto. And as we both know, I'm a bright young medic with a miraculous touch. Well why then, when I returned, there wasn't a trace of that wound on his forehead. Not even a bruise. It was like he had never been injured."
- "The opening shot of "Crystal Skull" shows the playful side of director Steven Spielberg, who seems to have a weak spot for cute animals. See "AI Artificial Intelligence" for Exhibit A. Ditto for executive producer George Lucas. See "Return of the Jedi" for Exhibit B."
- "He has created for himself a honed, primed-for-victory body and is working hard on a ditto mind."
- "Please run off twenty-four dittos of this assignment for my students."
Etymology
First attested in 1625. From regional Italian ditto, variant of detto, past participle of dire (“to say”), from Latin dīcō (“to say, to speak”). Not related to English dittography. The specific meaning of making copies of paper comes from ditto machine, a genericization from the brand name of a spirit duplicator.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: ditto, dīcō
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈdɪtoʊ/
- British English: /ˈdɪtəʊ/
Usage
- Transitive verb
- American usage