This is correct. When they were filling out official documents they were forbidden to cross anything out so they used the term "dico" to show that there was a correction. Hope this helps. Adrienne In a message dated 7/3/04 7:24:51 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: << In some of the vital records of Itri, Italy, I found such a phrase as Ciccarelli dico Riccardi. What I was told is this: the scribe made an error when writing the first surname(Ciccarelli) and meant to write the second surname(Riccardi). Can any one verify that this is the meaning of dico in this phrase? thank you >>