ditto

Etymology

First attested in 1625. From regional Italian ditto, variant of detto, past participle of dire (“to say”), from Latin dīcō (“I say, I speak”). Not related to Italian dito (“finger”). The specific meaning of making copies of paper comes from ditto machine, the brand name of a spirit duplicator.

noun

1. That which was stated before, the aforesaid, the above, the same, likewise.
   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. 1967, Star Trek, The Alternative Factor, season 1, episode 27, DeForest Kelley (actor)
   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. May 22, 2008, “New 'Indiana' film whips up plenty of thrills”, in Hudson (MA) MetroWest Daily News
   He has created for himself a honed, primed-for-victory body and is working hard on a ditto mind. July 3, 2009, “Andy Murray: easy to admire, but can we learn to love him?”, in Times Online
2. (US, informal) A duplicate or copy of a document, particularly one created by a spirit duplicator.
   Please run off twenty-four dittos of this assignment, for my students.
   Mr. Zappadia gave each student a ditto of a black-and-white cow. 2019, Ocean Vuong, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, Jonathan Cape, page 227
3. (by extension) A copy; an imitation.
   "You've got to look good to feel good," she announces, a ditto of television slogans. 1991, N. Romano-Benner, S. Murphy, “Convoking the muses of Cuenca”, in Americas, volume 43, number 1, page 6
   Last year, Argenta-Oreana blanked the Chiefs 23-0 in a second-round game Dee-Mack coach Jim McDonald said was "pretty much a ditto" of what transpired Saturday. November 9 2003, “Argenta appears unfazed”, in Herald & Review
   The intent of the policy, she said, is "not to put everybody in a ditto environment," where all are expected to look and act exactly like all others. May 6 2009, “Brunswick school hopes to be model for uniforms”, in Myrtle Beach Sun News
4. The ditto mark, 〃; a symbol, represented by two apostrophes, inverted commas, or quotation marks (" "), indicating that the item preceding is to be repeated.
5. (historical, in the plural) A suit of clothes of the same colour throughout.

adv

1. As said before, likewise.
   The inflationary effect of injecting $1 billion into the economy could be dire; ditto the impact on the tumbling bolivar of treating foreign reserves as if they were the government's piggy-bank. 15 Jan 2004, “Smash and grab”, in The Economist
   Some of the players were concerned about what the future held for them – given that one of the measures involved Chelsea not being able to operate in the transfer market or offer new contracts. Ditto many members of staff. March 11 2022, David Hytner, “Chelsea are in crisis but there is no will to leave club on their knees”, in The Guardian

verb

1. (transitive) To repeat the aforesaid, the earlier action etc.
   The Communists believed that Prakasam, the Prime Minister, never tried to check the bureaucracy but dittoed every action of the corrupt officials and police. 1989, K. K. N. Kurup, Agrarian struggles in Kerala
2. (US) To make a copy using a ditto machine.

intj

1. Used as an expression of agreement with what another person has said, or to indicate that what they have said equally applies to the person being addressed.
   I'm really busy today! —Ditto!