TransWikia.com

What do we call someone who is being dictated to?

English Language & Usage Asked on April 20, 2021

The one who rules or dictates is dictator, but what do we call the one who is being dictated to? I’m looking for a better match than slave, subservient, etc.
I am trying to find a word that matches a common etymological pattern like:

Interview brings two words:

interviewer- a person who interviews someone, and

interviewee-a person who is interviewed.

Similarly, the one who dictates get ‘dictator’, so what is the word for the one who is ‘dictated by a dictator’

I am looking for a word that is derived from the word ‘dictate’, if available.

3 Answers

I was going to say “secretary”, but in this context, with no specific word for this concept, a noun from the past participle will serve (as in many other situations):

The dictated

Now write it down.

Correct answer by David on April 20, 2021

Our word dictator comes from a Latin term for a magistrate who was given temporary supreme power in an emergency; it means something like one who speaks. We don't say that a dictator 'dictates' the people he rules over.

Answered by Kate Bunting on April 20, 2021

Were I a dictator, I would regard others as my subjects, rather as a king or queen does.

Subject: one that is placed under authority or control: such as
a. vassal


b (1): one subject to a monarch and governed by the monarch's law


b (2): one who lives in the territory of, enjoys the protection of, and owes allegiance to a sovereign power or state.

[Merriam Webster]

Answered by Anton on April 20, 2021

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question

Get help from others!

© 2024 TransWikia.com. All rights reserved. Sites we Love: PCI Database, UKBizDB, Menu Kuliner, Sharing RPP