deyḱ-
“to show, to point”show, point out, teach
Root for showing/pointing, yielding Latin dicere (to say), Greek deiknynai, English teach, token.
Discussion
The Proto-Indo-European root *deyḱ- meant "to show, to point out," and its reflexes reveal a remarkable semantic journey from physical gesture to abstract domains of speech, law, and number. Pokorny (IEW 188–189) established the reconstruction and catalogued its extraordinary productivity. In Latin, dīcere "to say" descends from this root, its meaning having shifted from "to point out" to "to declare" — a trajectory preserved transparently in indicāre "to point to, to indicate." From the Latin verbal stem flow English diction, dictionary, dictate, predict, verdict, contradict, and benediction. The legal branch is equally rich: Latin iūdex (from ius + dic-, "one who points out the law") gave English judge, judicial, and prejudice. Greek δείκνυμι (deiknymi) "to show, to demonstrate" traces directly to the e-grade, whence paradigm (a pattern shown alongside) and the deictic pronouns grammarians still name after this root. Sanskrit diś- (diśati, "he points") confirms the Indo-Iranian branch, with the noun diś- meaning "direction, quarter of the sky" — that which is pointed toward. Watkins highlights Latin digitus "finger" as likely belonging here, the finger being the instrument of pointing, giving English digit and digital. The semantic unity across three millennia is striking: whether one points a finger (digit), declares a word (diction), renders a judgment (judge), or indexes a book (index), one performs the original PIE act of showing forth.
Notes
Pokorny 188-189. English teach, token, digit, indicate, judge, diction.
Related Roots
English Words from *deyḱ-
These modern English words descend from this root. Each page traces the full journey from PIE to present-day English.