Ditto Is Italian for Said
Ditto means the same as above. It comes from an Italian word for said, used in old lists to avoid repeating a date.
Ditto means the same as what was just said. It is Italian *ditto*, a dialect form of *detto*, meaning said, and it entered English through commercial bookkeeping: in a ledger listing several entries from the same month, the clerk wrote the month once and then *ditto* below it. The ditto mark, a pair of small quotation marks, does the same job silently. In speech, saying "ditto" agrees with what someone just said.
- The same as above. *Two tickets, ditto for Friday.*
- An expression of agreement. *"I'm exhausted." "Ditto."*
- Ditto mark — the repeat symbol. *Use a ditto mark.*
- Idem — the Latin equivalent. *Idem, in footnotes.*
- Italian — *detto*, said. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | ditto | A ditto. |
| Plural | dittos | Rows of dittos. |
| Interjection | ditto | Ditto! |
| Compound | ditto mark | A ditto mark. |
| Italian | detto | Said. |
- Same again on Tuesday, ditto Wednesday.Lists.
- "I disagree." "Ditto."Agreement.
- Detto means said in Italian.Etymology.
Marks that mean repeat
- Ditto mark — a pair of small marks under a repeated entry
- Idem — Latin for the same, used in citations
- Ibid. — in the same place, for a repeated source
- Do. — an old abbreviation of ditto in ledgers
- Repeat sign — the musical equivalent
Italian dialect *ditto*, a variant of *detto*, said, from Latin *dictus*, from *dicere*, to say. English recorded it in the 1620s.
What is a ditto mark?
A pair of small marks written under an entry to show it repeats the line above, common in tables and lists.
Is ditto formal?
The ledger and list use is neutral. Saying ditto in conversation to agree is informal.