(June 2010). The ditto mark (″) is a typographic symbol indicating that the word(s) or figure(s) above it are to be repeated. For example: The word ditto comes from the Tuscan language, where it is the past participle of the verb dire (to say), with the meaning of “said”, as in the locution “the said story”. The first recorded use of ditto with this meaning in English occurs in 1625.