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1. Being the same:another orator who used the senator's identical words.
2. Exactly equal and alike:Your car is identical to mine. Are the fingerprints at the crime scene identical with those of the accused?
3. BiologyOf or relating to a twin or twins developed from the same fertilized ovum and having the same genetic makeup and closely similar appearance; monozygotic.
[FromMedieval Latinidenticus, fromLate Latinidentitās, identity; see IDENTITY.]
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.