DICTATE (2)

dictate (2). Dictate, n. a rule, maxim, hint, suggestion, order

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Dic″tate, v. i. 1. 1. To speak as a superior; to command; to impose conditions (on).
Who presumed to dictate to the sovereign. Macaulay. 2. 2. To compose literary works; to tell what shall be written or said by another.
Sylla could not skill of letters, and therefore knew not how to dictate. Bacon.