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单词 direct
释义

directn.

Brit. /dᵻˈrɛkt/, U.S. /dəˈrɛk(t)/
Etymology: apparently < direct v.
1. gen. A direction.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > command > command or bidding > [noun] > injunction or instruction > an injunction or instruction
charge138.
advisementa1387
instruction1410
jointc1475
injunction1526
special order1547
direction1576
encharge1595
direct1615
directing1632
directive1642
game law1820
mot d'ordre1905
1615 T. Adams Lycanthropy 4 in Blacke Devill Behold, is..in holy writte, euermore the vant-currer of some excellent thing... It is a Direct, a Reference, a dash of the Holy-Ghosts penne.
2. Music. A sign (?) placed on the stave at the end of a page or line to indicate the position of the following note.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > written or printed music > notation > [noun] > indication of first note of next page
director1597
index1597
direct1654
mostra1724
1654 J. Playford Breefe Introd. Skill Musick 21 A Direct..Which is placed at the end of the line to direct where the first Note on the next Line standeth.
1880 G. Grove Dict. Music I. 448/2 Direct, a mark (?) to be found in music up to the present century..like the catchword at the foot of a page.
†3. in direct of: see direct adj. 1c.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

directadj.adv.

Brit. /dᵻˈrɛkt/, /dʌɪˈrɛkt/, U.S. /dəˈrɛk(t)/, /daɪˈrɛk(t)/
Forms: Also Middle English–1500s dyrecte, directe, 1500s derect.
Etymology: probably < French direct (13th cent. in Godefroy Suppl.) = Provencal direct , Italian diretto , Spanish derecho right, < Latin dīrectus (dērectus ), past participle of dīrigĕre , dērigĕre : see direct v. The past participle was used as a simple adjective already in Latin. For the strictly participial use in English see after direct v.
A. adj.
1.
a. In reference to space: Straight; undeviating in course; not circuitous or crooked.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > direction > [adjective] > straight or constant
directa1500
straightaway1874
point-to-point1930
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > a straight course > [adjective]
forthrightc1000
rightOE
evenc1175
straightc1400
directa1500
right forth1561
outright1582
ungiddy1615
undeclined1638
forerighta1640
rectilinear1651
right-lined1702
rectilineala1774
arrow-straight1834
straightaway1874
point-to-point1930
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > [adjective] > direct
rightOE
straightc1400
directa1500
undevious1773
a15002 [see sense A. 1c].
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry IV f. xiii The confederates..toke the directe way..toward Windsor.
1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 60 The directe distance from Portsmouth to Barwicke, is 330. miles.
1699 W. Dampier Voy. & Descr. iii. i. 10 Being the directest Course they can steer for Barbadoes.
1748 tr. P. Lozano True Relation Earthquake Lima 40 The Streets are in a direct Line, and of a convenient Breadth.
1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 142. ⁋1 We turned often from the direct road to please ourselves with the view.
1834 T. Medwin Angler in Wales II. 90 I soon left the horseroad, and took a direct line over black heathery hills.
1874 J. Morley On Compromise 1 To consider, in a short and direct way, some of the limits that are set [etc.].
b. Of rays, etc.: Proceeding or coming straight from their source, without reflexion, refraction, or interference of any kind. Of a shot: That travels to the point which it strikes without ricocheting, or touching any intermediate object.So direct vision, vision by unrefracted and unreflected rays; ( direct-vision spectroscope, one in which direct vision is used); also used attributively to designate (a) in Photography, a type of view-finder in which the subject is viewed directly through a lens or sight; (b) in Television, a picture that can be viewed without magnification, or the apparatus for receiving such a picture. direct-draft (attributive), applied to a boiler, etc. from which the hot air and smoke pass off in a single direct flue, instead of circuitously to economize the heat. direct wave or ray, in Radio, the wave that passes from a transmitter to a receiver along the surface of the earth or (distinguished from surface wave) directly through the intervening air.
ΚΠ
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Direct Ray (in Opticks) is the Ray which is carry'd from a Point of the Visible Object directly to the Eye,through one and the same Medium.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Direct Vision is when the Rays of Light come from the Object directly to the Eye.
1839 T. Beale Nat. Hist. Sperm Whale 156 Under the direct rays of a tropical sun.
1849 M. Somerville On Connexion Physical Sci. (ed. 8) xxvi. 277 Places sheltered from the direct rays of the sun.
1876 Catal. Sc. App. S. Kens. Mus. §1802 The instrument..may be used as a small direct vision spectroscope.
1890 Daily News 21 Aug. 3/2 The target was examined, when it was found that it was a direct hit..The 1st Midlothian got a direct at first shot.
1911 Cassell's Cycl. Photogr. 188 Direct finder, or direct-vision finder, a finder in which the view or object is inspected direct.
1915 B. E. Jones Cinematogr. Bk. iii. 19 A wire-frame direct-vision finder..is fitted in addition.
1919 E. W. Stone Elem. Radiotelegr. (1920) ix. 198 A reflected wave from a station cannot arrive at the receiving station as soon as the direct wave which followed its normal path along the surface of the earth.
1937 Discovery Oct. 317/1 The receiver itself is a 23-valve superhet model with a direct vision television picture.
1943 C. L. Boltz Basic Radio ix. 142 Always there is a wave travelling along the surface of the earth. This is called the ground ray or direct ray.
1943 F. E. Terman Radio Engineers' Handbk. x. 674 The ground wave can conveniently be divided into..a surface wave and a space wave. The surface wave travels along the surface of the earth. The space wave is the result of..a direct wave and a ground-reflected wave.
1952 J. O'C. Howe & G. Ducloux tr. F. Kerkhof & W. Werner Television (Photo 36) Television picture with 625 lines, as reproduced by a direct-vision receiver.
1952 J. O'C. Howe & G. Ducloux tr. F. Kerkhof & W. Werner Television 408 Direct-vision tube, picture tube intended for direct viewing without magnification.
†c. in direct of: in a straight line with.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > quality or fact of being in a line (with) > in (a) line with [preposition]
in direct ofa1500
on1804
a1500 (?1397) G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Digby 72) (1872) ii. Suppl. §44. 55 Wryte þat þou findest in directe of the same planete þat þou worchyst fore.
a1500 (?1397) G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Digby 72) (1872) ii. Suppl. §44. 54 Loke [where] the same planet is wreten in the hede of thy tabele, and than [loke] what þou findest in directe of the same ȝere of owre lord wyche is passid.
2.
a. Moving, proceeding, or situated at right angles or perpendicularly to a given surface, etc.; not oblique.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > position at right angles to something > [adjective]
perpendicularc1475
square?a1560
direct1563
rectangular1646
upright1678
orthogonal1694
normal1704
right-angled1802
cathetal1874
the world > space > direction > [adjective] > at right angles
direct1563
1563 W. Fulke Goodle Gallerye Causes Meteors i. f. 4v In places where the beames are cast indirectly, and obliquely, & that where they are not to nyghe to the direct beames, nor to farre of from them: there is a moderate heate.
1658 W. Dugdale Let. in Sir T. Browne Hydriotaphia (1736) 50 Some of them are..Twenty Foot in direct Height from the Level whereon they stand.
1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 322 Ships cannot enter it without a direct wind.
1700 S. L. tr. C. Schweitzer Relation Voy. in tr. C. Frick & C. Schweitzer Relation Two Voy. E.-Indies 350 We hoisted up Sail all together, with a direct Wind for us at S.E.
b. Of the sphere: Having the pole coinciding with the zenith (parallel sphere), or lying on the horizon (right sphere); not oblique. Of a sundial: Facing straight to one of the four cardinal points; not declined.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > [adjective] > of or relating to sundials
gnomonical1570
gnomonic1601
sandy1607
gnomical1611
stylar1614
sciatherical1615
direct1659
skiagraphical1690
sciatheric1700
solar1728
1659 D. Pell Πελαγος To Rdr. sig. d5v They are like to a direct North-Dial, that hath but morning and evening hours on it.
1703 Moxon's Mech. Dyalling (ed. 4) in Moxon's Mech. Exercises (new ed.) 310 Of Dyal Planes some be Direct, others Decliners, others Oblique.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) Dial, Dials, which respect the Cardinal Points of the Horizon, are particularly call'd Direct Dials... North Dial, or Erect Direct North Dial, is that described on the Surface of the Prime Vertical, looking Northward.
c. Military. Applied to a battery, etc. whose fire is perpendicular to the line of works attacked. Also applied to gunnery fire with an elevation not exceeding 15°.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > piece of artillery > [adjective] > type of battery
direct1834
1834 J. S. Macaulay Treat. Field Fortification 7 The defence is called direct when the flanking line is perpendicular to the line flanked; when not perpendicular, it is termed oblique defence.
1879 Man. Siege & Garrison Artillery Exercises i. v. 24 Direct fire at masonry is either for demolition or for breaching.
d. Mechanics (see quot. 1879).
ΚΠ
1879 W. Thomson & P. G. Tait Treat. Nat. Philos. (new ed.) I: Pt. i. 102 111 When a body rolls and spins on another body, the trace of either on the other is the curved or straight line along which it is successively touched. If the instantaneous axis is in the normal plane perpendicular to the traces, the rolling is called direct.
e. Crystallography. Opposed to oblique: see quot.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > crystallography (general) > crystal (general) > crystals (other miscellaneous) > [noun] > index
index1868
direct1878
the world > matter > chemistry > crystallography (general) > crystal (general) > crystals (other miscellaneous) > [adjective] > index (structures having unequal index)
inverse1814
direct1878
1878 H. P. Gurney Crystallogr. 65 Those [rhombohedrons] in which the unequal index is algebraically greater than the equal indices are called direct.
1895 N. Story-Maskelyne Crystallogr. 141 and 312.
3. Astronomy. Of the motion of a planet, etc.: Proceeding in the order of the zodiacal signs, in the same direction as the sun in the ecliptic, i.e. from west to east; also said of the body so moving. Opposed to retrograde.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > planet > planetary movement > [adjective] > direct motion
directc1400
progressional1570
profectional1580
prograde1707
c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §35. 44 Yif so be þat this planete be vp-on the Est side..thanne is he retrograde & yif he be on the west side, than is he directe.
c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §35. 43 (heading) This is the workinge of the conclusioun, to knowe yif þat any planete be directe or retrograde.
1700 J. Dryden Chaucer's Palamon & Arcite ii, in Fables 47 Two Geomantick Figures were display'd..a Warriour and a Maid, One when Direct, and one when Retrograde.
1715 tr. D. Gregory Elements Astron. I. iii. §37. 453 After the Planet, which is nearer to the Sun, has passed the second Station at d, it becomes direct again.
1786 J. Bonnycastle Introd. Astron. 414 A planet is said to be direct, when it moves according to the order of the signs.
1837 Penny Cycl. IX. 14 The course of these celestial motions is always from west to east, which is the direct course.
4. Of relations of time, order, succession, etc., which can be figured or represented by those of space: Straightforward, uninterrupted, immediate.
a. gen.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > continuity or uninterruptedness > [adjective]
continualc1340
jointc1400
directa1513
unbroken1561
successive1586
continuate1601
uninterrupted1602
unintermitted1611
continued1628
concrete1651
constant1653
uninterrupted1657
unintermitting1661
solid1662
continuous1751
uninterrupt1776
unbroke1793
unintermittent1850
unbreathing1893
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. lxxvi. f. xxix I shal..sette theym in suche a direct ordre that it shalbe apparant to the Reder.
b. Of succession: Proceeding in an unbroken line from father to son, or the converse; lineal, as opposed to collateral; as a direct heir or direct ancestor.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > lineage or descent > [adjective] > in direct line
rightc1330
lineal1426
direct1548
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry IV f. xxiv Edmonde Mortimer..then next and direct heire of England and of Fraunce.
1600 E. Blount tr. G. F. di Conestaggio Hist. Uniting Portugall to Castill 117 The last King of Portugall, in whom ended the direct masculine line.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Warw. 126 Sir James Drax, a direct descendant from the Heirs-male.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) The Heirs in a direct Line always precede those in the Collateral Lines.
c. Logic. Proceeding from antecedent to consequent, from cause to effect, ect.; uninterrupted, immediate. Cf. direct reduction n. at Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > [adjective] > immediate or direct (of relations)
proxime1649
direct1828
1828 R. Whately Rhetoric in Encycl. Metrop. 258/1 Either Direct or Indirect Reasoning being employed indifferently for Refutation as well as for any other purpose.
1864 F. C. Bowen Treat. Logic viii. 243 In the other Figures, there are two indifferent Conclusions, neither of which is more direct or immediate than the others.
1891 J. Welton Man. Logic I. iv. iv. 422 Reduction is direct when the original conclusion is deduced from premises derived from those given.
1891 J. Welton Man. Logic I. iv. iv. 426 This indirect process is not reduction in the same sense as the direct method is.
d. Mathematics. Following the simple or natural order: opposed to inverse: see quots.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [adjective] > describing relationships between quantities > direct
simple1570
direct1636
1636 R. Hartwell Blundeville's Exercises (ed. 7) i. xi. 33 Working by the common or direct Rule of Three.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) The Rule of three Direct is that opposite to the Inverse. In the Direct, the 4th Number required increases the Proportion; and in the Inverse diminishes it.
1806 C. Hutton Course Math. (ed. 5) I. 44 The Rule of Three Direct is that in which more requires more, or less requires less.
1807 C. Hutton Course Math. (ed. 5) II. 279 The Direct and Inverse Method of Fluxions..the direct method..consists in finding the fluxion of any proposed fluent or flowing quantity; and the inverse method, which consists in finding the fluent of any proposed fluxion.
1839 G. Bird Elements Nat. Philos. 64 In the direct ratio of the arms of the lever.
e. direct opposite or contrary: that which is in the same straight or vertical line on the opposite side of the centre; that which is absolutely or exactly contrary.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > denial or contradiction > [noun] > that which > absolutely or exactly
direct opposite or contrary1786
1786 E. Burke Articles of Charge against W. Hastings 261 He had not scrupled to assert the direct contrary of the positions by him maintained.
1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) I. 482 Is not this the direct contrary of what was admitted before?
f. Music. Opposed to inverted (of intervals, etc.), or to contrary (of motion).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > interval > [adjective] > others
Pythagorean1653
diazeuctic1698
redundant1753
direct1828
parallel1876
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > harmony or sounds in combination > chord > [adjective] > arrangement of notes
supposed1730
inverted1737
primitive1786
direct1864
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > harmony or sounds in combination > [adjective] > movement of parts > specific
unformal1597
transgressive1761
consecutive1819
hidden1869
tonal1869
ostinato1876
direct1880
sequential?1890
1828 N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. (at cited word) In Music, a direct interval is that which forms any kind of harmony on the fundamental sound which produces it; as the fifth, major third, and octave.
1864 Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. (at cited word) Direct chord (Mus.), one in which the fundamental tone is the lowest.
1867 G. A. Macfarren Six Lect. Harmony ii. 50 The augmented 5th, which stands between the mediant and the leading note in a minor key, is always dissonant, in whatever position it occurs, whether direct or inverted.
1880 G. Grove Dict. Music I. 448 Direct Motion is the progression of parts or voices in a similar direction.
5.
a. That goes straight to, or bears straight upon, the point, without circumlocution or ambiguity; straightforward.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > plainness > [adjective] > straightforward or direct
naked?c1225
platc1385
plaina1393
light?a1400
rounda1450
direct1530
frank1548
evena1573
handsmooth1612
point-blank1648
crude1650
plain-spoken1658
plain-spoke1706
unambiguous1751
plump1789
straightforward1806
plain-said1867
pine-blank1883
straight1894
point-to-point1905
non-ambiguous1924
Wife of Bath1926
simpliste1973
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 387 ‘To serve you’ maketh a dyrecte answere to the questyon.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Job xxxviii. 3 I will question the, se thou geue me a dyrecte answere.
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xix. 193 Which had bene the directer speech and more apert.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) v. iv. 84 I durst go no further then the lye circumstantial: nor he durst not giue me the lye direct . View more context for this quotation
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xviii. 93 If the Soveraign Power..be not in direct termes renounced.
1759 W. Robertson Hist. Scotl. I. iv. 308 No direct evidence had as yet appeared against Bothwell.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 114 They ventured to bring direct charges against the Treasurer.
1888 R. Kipling Madness of Private Ortheris in Plain Tales from Hills 245 This was at once a gross insult and a direct lie.
b. Straightforward in manner or conduct; upright, downright.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > unaffectedness or naturalness > [adjective] > straightforward or frank
right fortha1382
plaina1393
free-hearteda1398
round1487
opena1535
sincere1539
frank1555
pert1567
single-hearted1574
single-minded1577
direct1586
open-hearted1593
open-breasted1594
transparent1600
unclose1606
unminced1648
even down1654
unreserved1654
rugged1678
plain sailing1707
whole-footed1744
sturdy1775
heart-in-mouth1827
jannock1828
straightforward1829
direct-dealing1830
undiplomatic1834
straight-ahead1836
straight-up-and-down1859
man to man1902
1586 A. Day Eng. Secretorie i. sig. E2v Iust or uniuste, godlye or wicked, direct or indirect.
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet ii. ii. 289 Bee euen and direct with me whether you were sent for or no. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) iii. iii. 383 Take note, take note, O world, To be direct and honest, is not safe. View more context for this quotation
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica i. v. 17 Yet was the Idolatry direct and downe-right in the people. View more context for this quotation
1768 L. Sterne Sentimental Journey I. 168 When my views are direct..I care not if all the world saw me.
1790 A. Young Jrnl. 19 Jan. in Trav. France (1792) i. 279 His conduct in the revolution has been direct and manly.
1872 J. Morley Voltaire i. 8 If he was bitter, he was still direct.
1894 S. Baring-Gould Kitty Alone II. 107 She was one of those direct persons who, when they have taken a course, hold to it persistently.
†c. Downright, positive, absolute (in character).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > state or quality of being simple, unmixed, or uncompounded > [adjective] > composed of one part > specifically of immaterial things
uncompounded1650
direct1668
square1804
straight1856
1668 S. Pepys Diary 19 Aug. (1976) IX. 283 What should it be but Jane, in a fit of direct raveing which lasted half-an-hour.
1751 R. Paltock Life Peter Wilkins II. xviii. 220 I then perceived they were direct Forges.
6.
a. Effected or existing without intermediation or intervening agency; immediate.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > [adjective] > operating directly
direct1600
the world > relative properties > relationship > [adjective] > immediate or direct
immediate1533
direct1600
primary1621
proximate1641
the world > action or operation > manner of action > [adjective] > specific modes of action or operation > direct
immediate1533
direct1600
short-circuited1951
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iv. i. 347 That by direct, or indirect attempts he seeke the life of any Cittizen. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) iii. vi. 9 In mine owne direct knowledge, without any malice..hee's a most notable Coward. View more context for this quotation
1805 J. Foster Ess. i. ii. 29 Direct companionship with a few.
1820 W. Scoresby Acct. Arctic Regions II. 356 The fisher is liable to receive..direct blows from its fins or tail.
1860 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters V. 202 The directest manifestation of Deity to man is in His own image, that is, in man.
1863 Parl. Deb. 3rd Ser. 171 1830 There is no man in England who has a more direct interest in it than I have.
1891 Law Times 91 425/2 The Reform Act of 1832 placed the representatives of the people in direct touch with their constituencies.
b. Of speech or narration: In the form in which it was uttered; not modified in form by being reported in the third person.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > narration > direct speech > [adjective]
direct1728
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) A very good Historian uses the Phrase Direct Speech, or Harangue, when he introduces any one speaking, or haranguing of himself.
1879 H. J. Roby Gram. Lat. Lang. ii. iv. xxiii. 325 The indicative expresses a fact; or a direct statement of opinion of the writer or speaker.
1879 H. J. Roby Gram. Lat. Lang. ii. iv. xxiii. 333 A direct question (or exclamation) is put in the indicative mood.
c. Biology. Of cell division: Effected without the formation of nuclear figures; amitotic.
ΚΠ
1888 G. Rolleston & W. H. Jackson Forms Animal Life (ed. 2) Introd. 22 The division of the protoplasm is preceded or accompanied by division of the nucleus. The process may be direct or amitotic, the nucleus simply elongating, and being split by a constriction.
d. direct action,
(a) action which takes effect without intermediate instrumentality. direct-action or direct-acting steam-engine, one in which the piston-rod or cross-head acts directly upon the crank without the intervention of a working-beam. direct-acting or direct-action pump: a steam-pump in which the steam-piston and the pump-piston are connected by a straight piston rod, without intervening crank.
ΚΠ
1842 Penny Cycl. XXII. 507/1 [It] effects the direct connection of the piston with the crank.
1842 Penny Cycl. XXII. 507/2 Engines of direct connection.]
1843 Proc. Inst. Civil Engineers 2 69 The comparatively recent introduction of direct-action steam-engines on board the steam-vessels of the Royal Navy.
1857 Chambers's Information for People (new ed.) I. 396 The best and simplest form of direct-acting engine is that known as the oscillating.
1874 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. I. 356/1 A small but powerful direct-acting steam-engine..operates the air-pump.
1874 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. I. 705/2 In Napier's direct-action steam-engine, the beam is retained, but only for the purpose of working the pumps.
1878 Proc. Inst. Civil Engineers 53 98 (title) Direct Acting or Non-Rotative Pumping Engines and Pumps.
1878 Proc. Inst. Civil Engineers 53 364 The construction of the second direct-action pumping engine on a new system for the Paris waterworks at St. Maur.
(b) the exertion of pressure on the community through any action which is directly effective, such as strikes, sabotage, or demonstrations, as distinguished from action through constitutional processes; also attributive. Hence direct actioner, direct actionist, one who engages in direct action.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > rebelliousness > militancy > [noun] > direct action
direct action1912
1912 J. R. MacDonald Syndicalism iv. 24 The Programme of Direct Action.
1919 Times 28 June 14/3 He had been a direct actionist for 35 years.
1920 S. Webb & B. Webb Hist. Trade Unionism (ed. 5) 672 The vast majority of Trade Unionists object to Direct Action..for objects other than those connected with the economic function of the Direct Actionists... Trade Unionists..are not prepared to disapprove of Direct Action as a reprisal for Direct Action taken by other persons or groups.
1920 Edinb. Rev. Oct. 361 The root idea of direct action dates back in this country to Chartist days. In practice, direct action almost invariably implies either a sectional strike by a particular group or groups of labour, or a general strike by all groups of labour combined.
1931 S. Jameson Richer Dust iv. 86 The men were talking of ‘direct action’, and not taking much notice of their elected [trade-union] leaders.
1957 Peace News 18 Jan. 1/4 We have confined ourselves..too naïvely to public meetings. There is a kind of direct action which..can have most profitable results.
1958 Observer 7 Dec. 1/3 Members and supporters of the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War climbed a barbed-wire fence yesterday and ‘invaded’ a rocket base being built near Swaffham, Norfolk.
1961 New Left Rev. Mar. 21/2 People who sneer at intellectuals and direct actioners.
1965 P. Arrowsmith Jericho xxvi. 285 Charles sat down on the ground. The other forty direct actionists followed his example.
1970 Guardian 4 Apr. 10/4 Why is direct action working where ‘constructive’, peaceful protest did not?
e. direct tax: one levied immediately upon the persons who are to bear the burden, as opposed to indirect taxes levied upon commodities, of which the price is thereby increased, so that the persons on whom the incidence ultimately falls pay indirectly a proportion of taxation included in the price of the article. So direct rate, direct rating, direct taxation, etc.The chief direct taxes in Great Britain are the Income and Property Taxes; local and municipal rates are also examples of direct taxation.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > tax > types of tax > [noun] > direct
direct tax1776
direct taxation1776
1776 A. Smith Inq. Wealth of Nations II. v. ii. 454 There are..two different circumstances which render the interest of money a much less proper subject of direct taxation than the rent of land. View more context for this quotation
1801 A. Hamilton Addr. to Electors N.Y. 21 There is perhaps no item in the catalogue of our taxes, which has been more unpopular than that which is called the direct tax.
1802 M. Cutler Let. 4 Jan. in W. P. Cutler & J. P. Cutler Life, Jrnls. & Corr. M. Cutler (1888) II. 65 There are two objects in view—one is to attack the funded debt, and the other, a direct tax upon the people.
1828 N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. (at cited word) Direct tax is a tax assessed on real estate, as houses and lands.
1845 J. R. McCulloch Treat. Taxation Introd. 1 A tax..is said to be direct when it is immediately taken from property or labour; and indirect when it is taken from them by making their owners pay for liberty to use certain articles, or to exercise certain privileges.
1845 B. Disraeli Sybil II. iv. xiv. 308 The ruinous mystification that metamorphosed direct taxation by the Crown into indirect taxation by the Commons.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 287 The discontent excited by direct imposts is..almost always out of proportion to the quantity of money which they bring into the Exchequer.
1894 Daily News 13 Feb. 5/5 Having fabricated a direct-rating test for parish councillors, the House did the same for guardians of the poor.
f. Of or pertaining to the work and expenses actually incurred during production as distinct from subsidiary work and overhead charges, i.e. to prime or initial costs or charges; also, applied to labour employed for the construction of works directly (without the intervention of a contractor).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > work > [adjective] > other types of work
gentlea1425
rurala1500
jobbing1705
universal1706
non-paying1843
sweated1883
unfair1886
direct1922
entry-level1949
sidebar1952
front end1976
intrapreneurial1978
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to conditions > [adjective] > employed directly
direct1922
1895 A. Fieldhouse Student's Adv. Book-keeping (1910) 215 The more immediate or direct cost of production.
1903 Encycl. Accounting II. 263 These ‘expenses’ or charges are broadly divisible into ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’.
1922 Managem. Engineering Feb. 86/2 Absence, such as is being considered here, applies mainly to direct or ‘productive’ labor and not to indirect or ‘non-productive’ employees.
1923 J. D. Hackett in Management Engin. May Direct labor, work done exclusively in the making of a product, in contradistinction to subsidiary work also necessary for production.
1925 R. J. H. Ryall Primer of Costing 49 Direct labour may therefore be defined as—‘Labour applied to a works order which can be measured and directly charged to that order or product’.
1930 Daily Mail 1 Aug. 7/7 The Office of Works is about to substitute direct labour for the present system of work done by contract.
g. Of a dye: not requiring a mordant; = substantive adj. 2c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > colouring > colouring matter > [adjective] > yielding dye > types of dye
substantive1794
alizarin1857
Congo red1885
neutral1892
Janus1898
metachrome1901
direct1902
indigoid1908
reactive1941
thioindigoid1943
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVII. 558/1 Direct Colours.—The characteristic feature of the dyestuffs belonging to this class is that they dye cotton ‘direct’.
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVII. 558/2 Wool and silk are dyed with the Direct Colours in the same manner as cotton.
1927 R. S. Horsfall & L. G. Lawrie Dyeing Textile Fibres ix. 225 Deltapurpurine and Diamine Scarlets B and 3B are direct cotton colours in common use.
1966 R. C. Cheetham Dyeing Fibre Blends i. 8 The classes of dye in general use can be graded in a descending order of molecular size, ranging from aggregated acid and direct dyes to finely dispersed and levelling acid dyes.
h. Metallurgy. Designating a process by which wrought iron is obtained from the ore without the intermediate stage of cast iron.
ΚΠ
1875 R. Hunt & F. W. Rudler Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 7) II. 941 Chenot's sponge may be obtained by an ‘internal’ or ‘direct’ method, in which the ore is reduced..by a hot current of carbonic-oxide gas.
1880 Encycl. Brit. XIII. 291/1 The ‘direct’ methods of Clay, Chenot, Yates, Blair, Snelus, Du Puy, Siemens, and others.
1884 W. H. Greenwood Steel & Iron xi. 212 The direct processes necessitate the use of purer and richer ores and fuels than the indirect processes.
1925 Jrnl. Iron & Steel Inst. 112 18 The difficulties that beset the commercial production of iron and steel direct from the ore in other direct processes.
i. direct broadcasting by satellite, television broadcasting in which viewers have special aerials to pick up the signal direct from the satellite used to receive and retransmit it; abbreviated DBS n. at D n. Initialisms 3a; also direct broadcast or direct broadcasting satellite.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > broadcasting > television > transmitting or receiving apparatus > [noun] > satellite
television satellite1952
TV satellite1957
satellite dish1962
direct broadcasting by satellite1977
DBS1981
Squarial1988
1967 Economist 1 July 32/2 What about direct satellite-to-home broadcasting?]
1977 Aviation Week 17 Oct. 135/1 European Space Agency is seeking about $260 million..for development in Western Europe of a direct broadcasting satellite capability.
1980 Hansard Commons 13 Mar. (Written Answers) 652 Mr. Charles Irving asked..whether there are any plans to establish direct broadcasting by satellite in the United Kingdom.
1980 Radio-Electronics Mar. 12/2 Sony, which makes equipment for the Japanese direct-to-home satellite experiment, is looking at the U.S. and could introduce components or entire systems when direct-broadcasting satellites arrive here.
1981 Microwaves Feb. 15/1 A direct-broadcast satellite (DBS) will be beaming three separate channels of national programming into American homes within five years.
1983 Fortune 18 Apr. 92/2 Until recently interference and atmospheric ‘noise’ made it impossible for small antennas to receive clear signals from a direct-broadcast satellite.
1983 Daily Tel. 22 Aug. 7/5 The imminent arrival of DBS (Direct Broadcasting by Satellite) has brought a new situation.
1986 Times 7 July 4/7 A new type of television, Direct Broadcasting by Satellite (DBS).
B. adv. = directly adv.
Thesaurus »
a. Straight in direction or aspect.
b. Immediately.
c. Absolutely, exactly.

Compounds

With adjectives, as direct acting (see A. 6d), direct-dealing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > unaffectedness or naturalness > [adjective] > straightforward or frank
right fortha1382
plaina1393
free-hearteda1398
round1487
opena1535
sincere1539
frank1555
pert1567
single-hearted1574
single-minded1577
direct1586
open-hearted1593
open-breasted1594
transparent1600
unclose1606
unminced1648
even down1654
unreserved1654
rugged1678
plain sailing1707
whole-footed1744
sturdy1775
heart-in-mouth1827
jannock1828
straightforward1829
direct-dealing1830
undiplomatic1834
straight-ahead1836
straight-up-and-down1859
man to man1902
a1505 R. Henryson Test. Cresseid 14 in Poems (1981) 111 Hir [sc. Venus'] goldin face, in oppositioun Of God Phebus, direct discending doun.
1568 (a1500) Freiris Berwik 323 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1930) IV. 270 And to þe eist direct he turnis his face.
1614 S. Rowlands Fooles Bolt soone Shott 14 Saying grace in mentall wise, Holding his Hatt direct before his eyes.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iii. 526 Direct against which op'nd from beneath..A passage down to th' Earth. View more context for this quotation
1743 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 8 Aug. (1932) (modernized text) II. 538 You will observe, they are direct contrary subjects.
1830 Westm. Rev. 12 292 We do not think that any direct-dealing man..can admire the figure.
1840 T. B. Macaulay Ranke's Hist. in Ess. (1854) 556/2 His orders have come down to him..direct from on high.
1868 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1876) II. App. 669 He fancies that the embassy went direct to Hungary.
1884 Law Rep.: Appeal Cases 9 1 Securities..procurable only from the corporations direct.
1885 Law Rep.: Chancery Div. 29 460 This property is held direct from the Crown.

Compounds

direct address n. Computing an address (address n. 6c) which specifies the location of data to be used as an operand; cf. indirect address n. at indirect adj. 2e.
ΘΚΠ
society > computing and information technology > programming language > program or code > [noun] > address > type of
absolute address1951
relative address1951
symbolic address1953
base address1958
indirect address1959
pointer1963
direct address1964
immediate address1964
vector address1975
referrer1995
1964 Gloss. Data Processing (Honeywell Inc.) 1/2 Direct address.
1985 Computerworld 22 Apr. 76/1 A random-access memory disk..does not offer the instant gratification of direct address.
direct addressing n.
ΘΚΠ
society > computing and information technology > programming language > program or code > [noun] > address > systems of
indirect address1959
absolute addressing1960
relative addressing1960
direct addressing1963
immediate addressing1964
symbolic addressing1977
multi-addressing1982
1963 IBM Systems Jrnl. 2 88 The use of direct addressing is limited to applications where the key set may be freely chosen to conform to the restrictions of the available set of addresses.
1980 C. S. French Computer Sci. xxiv. 180 Direct addressing is simple, fast and effective but the number of locations addressable is limited.
direct-arc furnace n. an electric-arc furnace in which the arc is formed between an electrode and the charge in the furnace.
ΚΠ
1921 J. N. Pring Electr. Furnace xi. 202 In the direct-arc furnaces, such as those of Héroult and Girod, a zone of very high temperature is produced in the slag immediately below the electrodes.
1962 Times 2 Mar. 15/5 One of the Birlec three-ton direct-arc furnaces.
direct-connected adj. = direct-coupled adj. (a).
direct-coupled adj. (a) coupled without an intermediate transmission device; (b) applied to two electrical circuits coupled by means of one or more resistors, capacitors, or inductors common to them both; also to an amplifier in which the signal path from one stage to the next contains only a resistor (or no circuit element at all), so that d.c. signals can be amplified.
ΚΠ
1901 Feilden's Mag. 4 441/2 A direct-coupled electrically-driven fan.
1910 G. W. Pierce Princ. Wireless Telegr. 96 Direct coupled transmitting and receiving circuits.
1953 F. Langford-Smith Radio Designer's Handbk. (ed. 4) xii. 529 A direct-coupled amplifier is one which the plate of one stage is connected to the grid of the next stage directly, or through a biasing battery or equivalent.
1962 J. H. Simpson & R. S. Richards Physical Princ. Junction Transistors ix. 214 Another very useful direct-coupled amplifier is the Darlington compound connection.
direct coupling n.
ΚΠ
1907 J. Erskine-Murray Handbk. Wireless Telegr. ii. 43 This method of connection is now called ‘direct coupling’, as opposed to inductive coupling by means of a separate primary and secondary.
1910 Hawkins' Electr. Dict. 119/1 Direct coupling, connecting the shaft of a dynamo armature directly to the shaft which drives it.
1931 J. A. Moyer & J. F. Wostrel Radio Handbk. ii. 87 In direct capacity coupling, the coupling is made closer by reducing the capacity of the common condenser... In indirect capacity coupling, the coupling is made closer by increasing the capacity of the coupling condensers.
direct coupler n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1916 Standard Rules Amer. Inst. Electr. Engin. 97 Direct coupler, an apparatus which magnetically joins two circuits having a common conductive portion.
direct current n. an electric current flowing in one direction only, as distinguished from an alternating current; abbrev. d.c., D.C.; also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electric current > [noun] > direct
direct current1889
1886 Jrnl. Soc. Telegraph-engineers & Electricians 15 193 I am glad that people are beginning to use the term ‘direct’ when they mean a current which does not alternate.]
1889 E. J. Houston Dict. Electr. Words 165 Direct current.
1893 D. C. Jackson Text-bk. Electro-magn. I. 92 A current constant in direction, but not necessarily so in value, is often called a Direct Current.
1893 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 41 623/2 The general merits of alternate-current, as against those of the direct-current systems.
1915 J. C. Hawkhead & H. M. Dowsett Handbk. Wireless Telegraphists (ed. 2) 83 A direct current may be passed through a known resistance and the amount of heat generated may be measured.
1959 Chambers's Encycl. XI. 547/2 The term rectifier is used of any electrical device which can convert an alternating current into a source of direct current.
direct-cut adj. designating or pertaining to: (a) a record whose groove was cut by a stylus rather than formed by a stamper, or (b) a record made from a disc cut by the sound to be recorded (rather than a tape recording of it).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > sound recording and reproduction > a sound recording > [adjective] > type of record > that has groove cut by a stylus
direct-cut1962
society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > sound recording and reproduction > a sound recording > [adjective] > type of record > that is made from disc
direct-cut1962
1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio iv. 87 Cut by the hot-stylus method..and subjected to no more than medium to low playing weights a microgroove direct-cut disc can survive very many replays without appreciable signs of wear.
1978 Gramophone June 116/1 The recording has a remarkable clarity and absence of distortion, the expected virtues of the direct-cut technique which bypasses the usual tape recording processes.
direct dialling n. Telephony the action or process of dialling a long-distance number direct, without the intervention of an operator, by using national and area codes before the local number; the facility to do this; cf. subscriber trunk dialling n. at subscriber n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > [noun] > methods and procedures
release1882
trunking1896
hunting1912
dialling1927
hunt1927
trunk dialling1952
direct distance dialling1955
direct dialling1958
dial-up1967
1958 N.Y. Times 7 June 39/3 The company said that if the trial were successful it would extend to more than 600,000 customers the direct dialing of person-to-person, collect or credit card calls.
1969 P. Dickinson Pride of Heroes 100 We're on direct dialling—shall I get the number for you?
direct-dial v. [as a back-formation] (transitive) .
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > communicate with by telephone [verb (transitive)] > dial
dial1921
redial1949
direct-dial1968
1968 J. D. MacDonald Pale Grey for Guilt (1969) xi. 127 I direct-dialled my love.
1976 CB Mag. June 63/3 An on-board phone lets him direct-dial any place in the world.
1984 D. Lodge Small World i. i. 43 Three things..have revolutionized academic life in the last twenty years..jet travel, direct-dialling telephones and the Xerox machine.
direct distance dialling n. U.S. Telephony = direct dialling n. above.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > [noun] > methods and procedures
release1882
trunking1896
hunting1912
dialling1927
hunt1927
trunk dialling1952
direct distance dialling1955
direct dialling1958
dial-up1967
1955 Fortune Feb. 224 (advt.) Direct distance dialing is easy and faster. Just by dialing three more digits than a local call, telephone users in certain towns can already reach as many as 14 million telephones.
1958 N.Y. Times 7 June 39/3 To make a call now to San Francisco, customers who have telephones equipped for direct distance dialing merely dial 415 and then the telephone number.
1983 Summary of World Broadcasts Pt. 3: Far East Weekly Econ. Rep. (B.B.C.) 29 June FE/W1242/B/1 Changchun City telecommunication bureau has installed direct distance dialling equipment.
direct drilling n. Agriculture the practice of sowing seed by drill into soil which has not been specially cultivated after harvesting the previous crop.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > sowing > [noun] > sowing in drills
drilling1767
direct drilling1973
1973 Times 8 Jan. 14/6 The latest technical innovation is direct drilling of root crops.
1983 Biscoe & Dawson in C. R. W. Spedding Fream's Elem. Agric. (ed. 16) xxiv. 479 A good tilth often exists after a cereal harvest and, when there has been a good burn, drilling can be performed with no cultivation at all, i.e. direct drilling.
direct extra current n. = direct induced current n.
ΚΠ
1863 E. Atkinson tr. A. Ganot Elem. Treat. Physics 690 When the circuit is opened the induced current formed is in the same direction as the principal current, and hence it is called the direct extra-current.
direct grant n. a grant of money paid directly to a school by the government; frequently attributive, esp. in direct-grant school a school that receives a direct grant and in return observes certain conditions regarding the admission of pupils, etc.; also elliptical.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > place of education > school > [noun] > publicly maintained school
free school1500
common school1503
public school1636
state school1806
national school1814
burgh-school1864
board-school1873
provided school1902
council school1908
direct-grant school1945
1945 Guide Educ. Syst. Eng. & Wales (Min. of Educ. Pamphlet No. 2) 58 Direct-grant school, school receiving grant direct from the Ministry of Education (e.g. nursery, special or grammar school).
1957 Economist 21 Dec. 1030/1 A number of excellent schools known in the jargon as ‘direct grant’.
1957 Economist 21 Dec. 1030/1 To qualify for direct grant status, a school must not make a profit.
1958 Times 29 July 9/6 The direct-grant grammar school may be given a choice of accepting local authority rule or becoming entirely independent of the public system and public funds.
1970 Guardian 9 Apr. 12/3 Obviously the Conservatives will look on the ‘direct grants’ with tenderness.
direct induced current n.
ΚΠ
1866 E. Atkinson tr. A. Ganot Elem. Treat. Physics (ed. 2) 702 A direct induced current, that is, one in the same direction as the principal one. This is known as the extra current.
direct injection n. a kind of fuel injection whereby fuel is supplied directly to the combustion chambers or their intakes in an internal combustion engine, without the use of a carburettor; usually attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > internal-combustion engine > [noun] > parts of > fuel injector > injection of fluid
injection1842
fuel injection1900
priming1911
direct injection1935
petrol injection1940
1935 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 39 802 Americans to give serious attention to the direct-injection engine, thus eliminating the carburettor.
direct-injected adj.
ΚΠ
1962 Economist 17 Mar. 1039/2 By making it reversible, lighter, faster and direct-injected, the company turned the diesel into a marine engine.
direct mail n. advertising matter or the like sent through the post to prospective customers; also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > correspondence > letter > mail > [noun] > type of
first class1863
second class1863
local1879
third class1891
registered1914
junk mail1921
direct mail1930
mailing shot1936
V-Mail1942
sea-mail1951
hate mail1954
certified mail1955
Mailgram1969
1930 H. Crane Let. 29 Dec. (1965) 360 The direct mail advertising business.
1959 Times Lit. Suppl. 23 Jan. 49/1 The work shown covers the realm of the poster, Press, direct mail, showcards, [etc.].
1962 E. Godfrey Retail Selling & Organization x. 109 Direct mail advertising of this type can create a big response.
1962 E. Godfrey Retail Selling & Organization x. 110 Another useful direct mail prestige advertisement which many shops use is to send a Christmas card to all their regular customers.
direct method n. a method of teaching a foreign language through conversation, reading, etc., in the language itself without using the pupil's native language and without study of formal rules of grammar; also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > teaching > [noun] > other methods of teaching
demonstration1742
bear-leading1766
royal road1793
tachydidaxy1846
object teaching1851
object system1862
methodic1864
community education1873
methodics1883
maieutics1885
type-system1901
direct method1904
spoon-feeding1905
play method1914
playway1914
project method1916
active learning1919
study skills1924
skit1926
free activity1929
hypnopaedia1932
sleep-teaching1932
chalk and talk1937
show-and-tell1941
demo1945
naming of (the) parts1946
team teaching1949
teleteaching1953
programming1954
audio-lingualism1961
immersion1965
dem1968
open learning1970
suggestopaedia1970
suggestopedy1970
distance learning1972
fast-tracking1972
paideia1982
tutorial1984
m-learning2001
1904 S. Bertelsen tr. O. Jespersen How to teach Foreign Lang. i. 2 The method is by some called the ‘new’ or ‘newer’;..the ‘direct’ comes a little nearer.
1914 W. Owen Let. 3 Feb. (1967) 232 The majority of English Teachers have an execrable Accent, and what is worse, no notion of the Direct Method.
1917 H. E. Palmer Sci. Study & Teaching of Lang. iv. 72 In many cases..the Direct Method..resolves itself into the negative precept: there must be no translation.
direct object n. the word, etc., denoting that which is directly affected by the action of the verb (commonly expressed by the accusative, or case of direction to, in Latin and other languages); the word governed by a transitive verb.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > syntax or word order > syntactic unit or constituent > [noun] > object > specific
dative object1831
cognate object or accusative1874
retained object1875
direct object1879
indirect object1879
recipient1899
person-object1928
1879 H. J. Roby Gram. Lat. Lang. iv. viii. §1122 Some verbs have..two direct objects, one being a person, the other a thing.
1879 H. J. Roby Gram. Lat. Lang. iv. ix. §1132 Not unfrequently..the indirect object in Latin corresponds to the direct object in English.
1881 C. P. Mason Eng. Gram. (ed. 24) §369 The Direct Object denotes—(a) the Passive Object, or that which suffers or receives the action denoted by the verb... (b) The Factitive Object, or that which is the product of the action.
direct-reading n. applied attributively to a measuring instrument calibrated in the actual quantity measured.
ΚΠ
1885 Jrnl. Soc. Telegraph-engineers & Electricians 14 497 Ten years ago hardly anyone had even seen a direct-reading instrument.
1887 Jrnl. Soc. Telegraph-engineers & Electricians 16 618 An instrument..which indicates the quantity to be measured without any adjustment on the part of the observer, is a ‘direct-reading’ instrument.
1956 Nature 17 Mar. 513/1 Electronic circuits for a direct-reading spectrograph.
direct realism n. Philosophy the theory that in perception we are directly aware of external or physical objects as they really are.
ΚΠ
1925 J. E. Turner (title) A theory of direct realism.
1956 H. H. Price in H. D. Lewis Contemp. Brit. Philos. 391 These three arguments..do at least refute the ‘Direct Realism’ of common sense.
1963 W. Sellars Sci., Perception & Reality 61 Direct realism and classical phenomenalism share..the ‘phenomenalistic theme’.
1967 Encycl. Philos. VII. 78/1 Naive realism is the simplest form of direct realism.
direct reduction n. Logic reduction of a syllogism by expressing it in one of the moods of the first figure.
ΚΠ
1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning ii. sig. Oo 2 The Reduction to be of two kindes Direct, and Inuerted; the one when the Proposition is reduced to the Principle, which they terme a Probation ostensiue: the other when the contradictorie of the Proposition is reduced to the contradictorie of the Principles, which is, that which they call Per Incommodum, or pressing an absurditie. View more context for this quotation]
1962 Mind 71 114 Aristotle..uses misleading descriptions, speaking as though in direct reduction one syllogism is turned into another.
direct rule n. a system of government in which power and administration are exercised by central government, rather than one in which there is any measure of devolution; spec. with reference to Northern Ireland; contrasted with indirect rule at indirect adj. 2a.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > a or the system of government > direct rule, devolution, or trusteeship > [noun] > direct rule
direct rule1922
1922 F. D. Lugard Dual Mandate Brit. Trop. Afr. xi. 227 ‘Tell us what you want done,’ they say to their foreign monitors, ‘and we will take care that your wishes are carried out, but do not attempt to see to their execution yourself.’ This is the whole difference between direct rule and rule through the native rulers.
1936 Discovery Nov. 360/1 Policy may vary from..colonial exploitation to virtual native freedom under the paternal supervision of ‘direct rule’.
1964 P. Worsley in I. L. Horowitz New Sociol. 384 Thus the attributes of bureaucracy under indirect rule differ profoundly from direct-rule situations.
1970 Guardian 12 Aug. 1/4 The Prime Minister [of N. Ireland]..said: ‘I think if direct rule were imposed, it might provoke a very violent reaction on the part of the Protestant loyalist population.’
direct sowing n. Forestry (see quot. 1891).
ΚΠ
1891 W. Schlich Man. Forestry II. ii. 41 Under ‘direct sowing’ is understood the formation of a wood by the sowing of seed directly on the area which it is proposed to stock.
1953 H. L. Edlin Forester's Handbk. x. 164 Many trials of direct sowing of various kinds of tree have been carried out in Britain, but no system has come into general use.
direct spark n. designating a form of magneto-ignition in an internal combustion engine.
ΚΠ
1908 Westm. Gaz. 16 Nov. 5/2 The adoption of the high-tension direct-spark magneto ignition.
direct voice n. Spiritualism speech said to emanate directly from a disembodied spirit, without using a medium.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > the occult > spiritualism > [noun] > a spiritual body > utterance of
voice1579
direct voice1926
1926 A. Conan Doyle Hist. Spiritualism I. xiv. 330 Again, in reporting upon Mrs. Lord the Commission got the Direct Voice, and also phosphorescent lights after the medium had been searched.
1946 G. N. M. Tyrrell Personality of Man viii. xxv. 217 The ‘direct voice’ in which, it is alleged, a deceased person speaks from some isolated point in space.
1967 Listener 19 Oct. 488/2 The Society for Psychical Research has a standing offer of £1,000 to any medium who can produce physical phenomena such as materialisation, levitation or direct voice under test conditions.

Draft additions June 2020

Designating or relating to a form of government based on policies or laws decided by a majority of the entire people, rather than a body of elected representatives. Frequently in direct democracy. Cf. representative adj. 2.Direct government is rare in modern states, due to the obstacles posed by large populations and the complexity of modern governance, but it may be occasionally exercised through town meetings, citizens assemblies, referendums, or the like.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > a or the system of government > government by the people or their delegates > [adjective]
democratic1569
democratian1574
democratical1574
direct1629
democrat1794
democratized1797
democratizing1797
liberal democratic1868
1629 T. Hobbes tr. Thucydides Eight Bks. Peloponnesian Warre viii. 525 Whosoeuer desired that the Soueraignety should be in the 5000 in stead of the 400, ought..to set himselfe to the worke in hand... To make so many participant of the affairs of State..was a direct Democracie.
1800 Polit. Ess. Pop. Subj. iii. 55 A direct Democracy supposes the whole body of a nation to be assembled for the purpose of deliberating upon, enacting, and executing laws. An indirect Democracy considers the mass of the inhabitants..as represented by delegates.
1851 in tr. V. P. Considérant Diffic. Solved Pref. p. iii Victor Considerant..having from mature reflection become convinced that Direct Government by the People themselves is the Solution of the Political Problem, undertook the task of popularizing the theory in France.
1915 Edinb. Rev. Oct. 282 Swiss democracy, like that of the Greek City-States, is in no inconsiderable degree direct.
2019 Federal NewsFeed (Nexis) 23 July Brexit has created a deep constitutional malfunction, pitching a system built on parliamentary democracy against a mandate thrown up by a referendum, an expression of direct democracy at odds with traditional British politics.

Draft additions December 2002

Designating or relating to a method of selling goods or services in which the manufacturer or provider deals directly with the customer, rather than through a wholesaler, retailer, or other intermediary. Cf. direct mail n. at Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > selling > [adjective] > in specific manner
retailing?1582
wholesale1607
cutting1851
direct1892
wholesaling1896
underselling1899
quick-turnover1951
outbound1989
society > trade and finance > selling > [adjective] > selling methods or techniques
direct1892
soft-selling1921
tie-in1943
hard sell1946
pyramid1949
switch selling1960
multilevel1970
cold-call1985
ambush1987
1892 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Mar. 379/2 He was a great horse-breeder in Queensland..and..he wanted to organise direct sales in India, because the middle-men ate up too much of his profit.
1906 S. E. Sparling Introd. Business Organization 206 Another method of direct selling is found in the system of canvassers and road-men sent out by factories.
1930 Publishers' Weekly 12 July 182/2 How ethical is the publisher who, after selling his books to the bookseller, canvasses the retailer's own customers for direct business?
1961 J. Gottman Megalopolis xi. 576 Tertiary services—transportation, trade in the simpler sense of direct sales, maintenance, and personal services.
2000 Printing World 7 Feb. 11/3 Océ will have its direct sales force pounding pavements for its own-badged Encad range.

Draft additions December 2007

Association Football. Designating a free kick from which a goal may be scored directly. Cf. indirect adj. Additions.
ΚΠ
1938 Football Assoc. Referees' Chart & Players' Guide xiii. 24/1 Free-kicks shall be classified under two heads: ‘Direct’ (from which a goal can be scored direct against the offending side) and ‘Indirect’... When a direct or indirect free-kick is taken, a player from the opposite side shall not approach within 10 yards.
1983 N.Y. Times 12 May b14/6 Chinaglia was taken down..just outside the penalty box and was awarded a direct kick.
2001 FourFourTwo Aug. 77/1 They had a direct free kick just inside the box.

Draft additions September 2012

direct aid climbing n. Mountaineering and Rock Climbing = aid climbing n. at aid n. Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
1947 Canad. Alpine Jrnl. 30 38 As a traverse around the slabbed base was the only feasible route, Beckey set up a pattern of pitons for direct aid climbing.
1967 Newsday (N.Y.) 19 Aug. 14 w/1 Direct-aid climbing makes it possible to ascend the most difficult rock, to brave thousands of feet, to hang upside down, and even to surmount overhanging rock.
2004 M. Houston & K. Cosley Alpine Climbing v. 140/1 Any alpine rock route involves a continuum of tactics..ranging from unroped, simul-soloing at one extreme to 5th-class belayed pitches and even direct aid climbing at the other.

Draft additions June 2001

direct debit n. Banking an instruction to a bank that allows a third party to transfer money from one's account (regularly) on agreed dates, typically in order to settle bills; the facility for carrying out such transactions.
ΚΠ
1976 Financial Trans. in Retail Environment (Frost & Sullivan Inc.) iii. 86 A direct debit can be made to the cardholder's account and a credit to the merchant's account in real time.
1994 Guardian 26 Feb. 6/8 Some Natfhe members at the college have their union subscription deducted by ‘check-off’, but others pay by direct debit.
2000 Independent 10 July i. 9/3 An evangelical church that encourages its members to pay by direct debit for soul-saving prayers..is being investigated by police.

Draft additions March 2017

direct evidence n. Law (a) evidence which proves a fact without inference or presumption (opposed to circumstantial evidence at circumstantial adj. 1a); (b) evidence in the form of a statement made by a witness in court that he or she perceived a fact in issue with one of his or her five senses, or in the form of an item or document produced in court (opposed to hearsay evidence n. at hearsay n. 2b).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > [noun] > evidence given, testimony > personal
direct evidence1591
teste meipso1607
society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > evidence > [noun] > other types of evidence
direct evidence1591
adminicle1592
extrinsic evidence1660
evidence-in-chief1747
hearsay evidence1753
secondary use1765
secondary evidence1810
rebuttable presumption1837
1591 G. Fletcher Of Russe Common Wealth xiv. f. 51v Such kinde of suites as lacke direct euidence, or stande vpon coniectures and circumstances to bee waighed by the Iudge.
1649 Triall Lieut. Col. J. Lilburne 125 Attainders of Treason &c. ought to bee upon plaine and direct evidence.
1696 Arraignment, Tryal, & Condemnation A. Rookwood 55 Not direct Evidence against the Prisoner, but only to prove a Circumstance.
1732 tr. Whole Case M. C. Cadiere against J. B. Girard 120 The sixth Presumption against Father Girard is founded on the direct Evidence produced in the Proceedings.
1781 London Courant & Westm. Chron. 5 Feb. Malice is an act or disposition of the mind, which cannot be proved by direct evidence.
1803 Trial Donnelly, Farrell, Begbey, & Kelly in T. J. Howell & T. B. Howell Cobbett's Compl. Coll. State Trials (1820) XXVIII. 1096 Direct evidence is not indispensably necessary. Strong presumptive evidence is as satisfactory for conviction as any other.
1896 Law Times 100 552/1 In quality of probative force direct evidence necessarily has an inherent advantage.
1931 Scotsman 30 Mar. 14/5 The only direct evidence in the case was the testimony of the tramcar driver.
1972 D. Karlen & J. L. Schultz in S. S. Nagel Rights of Accused iv. 124 Indictments may be suppressed if..prosecutors rely on hearsay evidence when direct evidence is available.
2014 Hindustan Times (Nexis) 5 Aug. There was no direct evidence against him as the cases were based on circumstantial evidence.

Draft additions December 2016

direct examination n. the questioning of a witness by the party which has called that witness to give evidence, in order to support the case being made; = examination-in-chief n. at examination n. 1e; cf. cross-examination n. at cross-examine v. Derivatives.
ΚΠ
1763 Tryal N. & V. Molloy 16 Upon the direct Examination she must not speak to Hearsay and Belief; but if on the Cross Examination you ask her to Belief or Hearsay, she must Answer.
1832 Sydney Gaz. 11 Aug. 2/6 These witnesses not only varied in the most material points of their statement..in their direct examination; but in the course of a lengthy and able cross-examination..completely contradicted each other.
1962 P. Dunning Sequel to Verdict ii. 50 (stage direct.) Another spot light fades in on Warren starting his direct examination.
2003 J. Grisham King of Torts (2004) xxxix. 448 After a wonderful and creative direct examination..Mooneyham had proceeded to butcher the poor boy on cross-[examination].

Draft additions December 2002

direct marketing n. originally U.S. a method of trade in which the manufacturer or provider supplies the customer directly, as opposed to through an intermediary; (also, now the usual sense) a method of marketing goods or services using direct mail, telemarketing, or media advertising, in response to which customers order directly from the manufacturer or provider (cf. direct response n. at Additions).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > selling > [noun] > other types of selling
demonstration1904
direct marketing1912
telesales1939
1912 Rep. Committee on Markets, Prices & Costs N.Y. State Food Investigating Commission 74 Direct Marketing. From an investigation as to what extent marketing is being developed directly between producers and consumers, of 292 farmers, 217 had had experience in selling direct to the consumer.
1913 C. McCarthy in Proc. Amer. Polit. Sci. Assoc. 10 355 Mr. Hull's direct marketing bill and the proposed market commission bill you are already familiar with from your study of and contact with the legislature.
1967 Advertising Age 24 July 67 Agency head Lester Wunderman..believes the answer is..something once called mail order, which now is evolving into what he terms ‘direct marketing’.
2000 Sydney Morning Herald 31 May 5/1 Telemarketers phoning dead people's homes and catalogues being addressed to the dead has become..a serious and sensitive problem for the $9 billion direct-marketing industry.

Draft additions October 2009

direct product n. Mathematics a direct sum of sets regarded formally as a product, which in the case of an infinite number of sets is allowed to contain infinite sequences of non-zero elements.
ΚΠ
1897 W. Burnside Theory of Groups of Finite Order iii. 40 If two groups G1, G2 have no common operation except identity, and if each operation of G1 is permutable with each operation of G2, the group {G1,G2} is called the direct product of G1 and G2.
1951 Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 2 324 The given identity is satisfied also by the direct product A × G, where G is a field containing F.
2004 R. Snieder Guided Tour Math. Methods Physical Sci. (ed. 2) xxii. 400 The direct product of two tensors is formed by multiplying the different elements of the two tensors without carrying out a summation over repeated indices.

Draft additions October 2009

direct proportion n. Mathematics the relationship between quantities whose ratio is constant; a relationship between two measurable attributes, quantities, activities, etc., in which an increase in one occurs at the same time as a corresponding increase in the other; cf. inverse proportion at inverse adj. 3a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > ratio or proportion > [noun] > equal or constant
proportiona1387
analogy?a1425
direct proportion1636
direct ratio1702
1636 W. Bedwell tr. P. de la Ramée Via Regia ad Geometriam 41 This kinde of proportion rationall and expressible by a number, is not to be had in first figures themselves: but in those that are equally manifold to them, as was taught even now in direct proportion.
1764 J. Ferguson Astron. Explained (ed. 3) 340 The quantity of this parallax is in direct proportion to the absolute difference in the time of the egress arising from it.
1877 Spirit of Times 24 Nov. 461/2 (advt.) A consequent waste of power, thus detracting from his speed in direct proportion to the spread of the axle.
1910 Encycl. Brit. IX. 182/2 The current varies in direct proportion to the electromotive force.
2004 Independent 3 Aug. 30/2 The rise in popularity of complementary medicine is in direct proportion to the waning of the patient's adherence to the ‘doctor knows best’ ethos.

Draft additions October 2009

direct ratio n. Mathematics = direct proportion n. at Additions
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > ratio or proportion > [noun] > equal or constant
proportiona1387
analogy?a1425
direct proportion1636
direct ratio1702
1702 I. Newton Theory of Moon's Motion 24 The sixth and seventh Equations are augmented or diminished..in a direct Ratio of the Moon's Horizontal Parallax.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 62 The decay of sound has been supposed by some to be nearly in the direct ratio of the distances.
a1849 E. A. Poe Marginalia in Wks. (1864) III. 485 The goodness of your true pun is in direct ratio of its intolerability.
1937 Z. N. Hurston Their Eyes were watching God xvi. 215 She was cruel to those more negroid than herself in direct ratio to their negroness.
1996 Jrnl. Agric., Biol., & Environmental Statistics 1 394 The two species X and Y contribute to the total yield in direct ratio to their proportion in the colony.

Draft additions December 2002

direct response n. a marketing strategy whereby an advertisement supplies a telephone number or other details, enabling a customer to order directly from the manufacturer or service provider concerned, rather than via a retailer; chiefly attributive.
ΚΠ
1947 Jrnl. Marketing 12 210/2 Inquiry and sales testing methods are valid and reliable, both as measures of the direct response and the publicity values of the copy.]
1953 H. C. Levinson in Jrnl. Operations Res. Soc. Amer. 1 236 (caption) Percentage of Bamberger sales to those of the Newark District by weeks, with sales due to direct-response advertising eliminated.
1972 N.Y. Times 27 July 49/2 The first [advertising deal] comes from an advertiser or agency who wants to place a direct response ad and is willing to pay so much for each reader response but not the rate card price.
1992 Campaign 3 July 16/3 Measured advertising effect, be it aided recall, unaided recall or direct response.
2001 Palm Beach (Florida) Post (Electronic ed.) 10 Sept. Companies nationwide spent $11.3 billion in 1999 on direct-response television ads... Such ads typically involve a sales pitch that includes an 800 number for viewers to call to reach operators who ‘are standing by’.

Draft additions October 2009

direct sum n. Mathematics a set regarded formally as the sum of sets X1,…,Xn, consisting of ordered n-tuples (x1,…,xn), where xi ∈ Xi, and distinguished from a direct product only in the case of an infinite number of sets, the direct sum consisting only of sequences containing a finite number of non-zero elements.
ΚΠ
1908 Proc. London Math. Soc. 6 109 An algebra, which has a modulus, can be expressed uniquely as the direct sum of a number of irreducible algebras.
1971 M. B. Powell & G. Higman Finite Simple Groups iii. 149 V is completely reducible, i.e., a direct sum of irreducible modules.
2005 Math. Mag. 78 221 We can write the group as a direct sum of cyclic groups.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

directv.

Brit. /dᵻˈrɛkt/, /dʌɪˈrɛkt/, U.S. /dəˈrɛk(t)/, /daɪˈrɛk(t)/
Forms: Also Middle English de-, Middle English–1500s dy-, Middle English derekt, 1500s Scottish direck.
Etymology: < Latin dīrect- (dērect- ), participial stem of dīrigĕre (dē- ) to straighten, set straight, direct, guide, < dī- apart, asunder, distinctly (or dē- down) + regĕre to put or keep straight, to rule. It is probable that the participial adjective direct was first formed immediately < Latin dīrectus , and that this originated a verb of the same form: compare -ate suffix3 3. Both the past participle and finite tenses of the verb were used by Chaucer. There is a close parallelism of sense-development between direct and address , arising out of their etymological affinity: compare also dress v.
1. transitive. To write (something) directly or specially to a person, or for his special perusal; to address.
†a. To dedicate (a treatise) to. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > book > matter of book > [verb (transitive)] > dedicate writing to
directc1374
inscrive1382
entitlea1464
dedicate1542
ascribea1555
inscribea1650
c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde v. 1868 O morall Gower, this booke I directe To thee.
1447 O. Bokenham Lyvys Seyntys (1835) Introd. 7 You sone and fadyr to whom I dyrecte This symple tretyhs.
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde iii. ix. f. 136 They dyrected and dedicated such thinges to kynges and princes.
1581 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xliv. 2 To ȝou, ministers, and Prelattis of perdition, This schedul schort I do direct.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 163 The treatise of English Dogs..translated by A.F. and directed to that noble Gesner.
†b. To write (a letter or message) expressly to. [ < Latin dirigere epistolam, 4th cent., Servius and Jerome; also attributed by Servius to Cicero.] Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > correspondence > letter-writing > write (a letter) [verb (transitive)] > write (a letter) to
direct1397
1397 Rolls of Parl. III. 378/2 As it is..declared in the same Commission directid to William Rikhill, Justice.
1467 in Manners & Househ. Expenses Eng. (1841) 173 I have reseyved ȝower moste grasyou[s] leter to me dereketed, to be wethe ȝowere hynes..the nexte morow after Kandelmas day.
1490 W. Caxton tr. Eneydos xxii. 84 Yf he take the lettre vnto hym whome it is dyrected vnto.
1511–12 Act 3 Hen. VIII c. 23 §5 The Kinges Highnes shall..direct his lettres missyves to twayn of his honourable Counseillours.
1535 A. Borde Let. 20 June in Fyrst Bk. Introd. Knowl. (1870) Foreword 53 To..Master Thomas Cromwell..be þis byll dyrectyd.
1601 R. Parsons (title) An Apologetical Epistle: directed to the right honourable Lords..of her Maiesties Privie Counsell.
1730 J. Gay in J. Swift Lett. (1766) II. 115 If you knew how often I talk of you..you would now and then direct a letter to me.
c. spec. In modern usage, To write on the outside of (a letter or the like) the name, designation, and residence of the person to whom it is to be delivered; to write the ‘direction’ or ‘address’ on.In early examples not separable from b.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > correspondence > sending items > send items [verb (intransitive)] > address letter
direct1598
society > communication > correspondence > sending items > send items [verb (transitive)] > address letter
redressa1393
superscribe1472
direct1598
dedicate1688
back1825
address1880
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost iv. ii. 128 But Damosella virgin, Was this directed to you? View more context for this quotation
1642 King's Reply in J. Rushworth Hist. Coll.: Third Pt. (1721) II. 63 His Message..was..taken..by the Earl of Essex, and though not to him directed, was by him opened.
1697 London Gaz. No. 3334/4 The Box nail'd up and Directed to Mrs. Ann Perriot.
1713 J. Addison in Guardian 1 Aug. 1/2 A Letter folded up and directed to a certain Nobleman.
1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World iv. 134 Put them all up together in one packet, and direct them to me.
1855 Ld. Houghton Let. in T. W. Reid Life Ld. Houghton (1890) I. xi. 527 Lady Ellesmere's letter missed me altogether, although directed as I desired.
absolute.1707 Thoresby in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eminent Literary Men (1843) (Camden) 337 If I had sooner known how to direct to you, I had long ago..written.1751 E. Burke Let. 31 Aug. in Corr. (1958) I. 111 Direct to me at Mr. Hipkis's, Ironmonger in Monmouth.1775 S. Johnson Let. 6 June (1992) II. 218 I hope my sweet Queeney will write me a long letter, when..she knows how to direct to me.1812 P. B. Shelley Let. 18 June (1964) I. 195 You may direct the Post Off. at Chepstow for if we are gone Eliza will be there.1835 C. Dickens Let. 4 July (1965) I. 68 You may direct to me if you please at 18 York Place Fulham Road.
2.
a. To address (spoken words) to any one; to utter (speech) so that it may directly reach a person. archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > conversation > addressing or speaking to > speak to or address [verb (transitive)] > address words to a person
dressa1325
puta1350
shapec1400
directc1450
address1518
apply1565
c1450 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi i. xxiii Þider directe praiers & daily mornynges wiþ teres.
1611 Bible (King James) Psalms v. 3 In the morning will I direct my prayer vnto thee. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) v. v. 135 Words sweetly plac'd, and modest[l]ie directed . View more context for this quotation
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxv. 131 To whom the Speech is directed.
†b. To impart, communicate expressly, give in charge to a person. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > [verb (transitive)]
showc1175
conveyc1386
directa1400
address1490
communicate1529
participate1531
import1565
discourse1591
tradit1657
to set out1695
trajecta1711
a1400 Pistill of Susan 278 He directed þis dom..To Danyel þe prophete.
1598 R. Barret Theorike & Pract. Mod. Warres i. 1 The straite charges and commands directed from her Maiestie.
1633 Bp. J. Hall Plaine Explic. Hard Texts i. 324 If God should direct his precepts..to a child.
3. To put or keep straight, or in right order.
†a. To set or put in right order, to arrange. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > put in (proper) order [verb (transitive)]
rightlOE
attire1330
ettlea1350
to set (also put) in rulea1387
redress1389
dress?a1400
fettlea1400
governc1405
yraylle1426
direct1509
settlec1530
tune1530
instruct1534
rede1545
commodate1595
square1596
concinnate1601
concinnea1620
rectify1655
fix1663
to put (also bring) into repair1673
arrange1802
pipeclay1806
to get together1810
to do up1886
to jack up1939
1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure x. iii Dysposicion, the true seconde parte Of rethorike, doth evermore dyrecte The maters formde of this noble arte, Gyvyng them place after the aspect.
b. To keep in right order; to regulate, control, govern the actions of.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > control > [verb (transitive)] > direct
rakeeOE
rule1340
demean?a1400
direct?1510
hold1577
mastermind1927
quarterback1943
society > authority > control > [verb (transitive)] > regulate
dightc1230
ordainc1300
raila1350
regulate?a1425
arrayc1440
ordinance1440
order1509
direct?1510
regolate1585
reigle1591
ordinate1595
qualify1597
steer1616
govern1806
police1885
?1510 T. More tr. G. Pico della Mirandola in tr. G. F. Pico della Mirandola Lyfe I. Picus sig. g.iii O holy god..which heuen and erth directest all alone.
1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Svpper of the Lorde f. cxxxiiv To direct, sanctifye and gouerne, both our heartes and bodies.
1552 Abp. J. Hamilton Catech. i. i. f. 6 It [sc. the eye] direckis al the membris of our bodie.
1713 J. Addison Cato i. i. 41 He..cover'd with Numidian Guards, directs A feeble army.
1847 R. W. Emerson Napoleon in Wks. (1906) I. 373 His grand weapon, namely, the millions whom he directed.
1883 J. A. Froude Short Stud. IV. i. i. 1 The mind, or spiritual part of man, ought to direct his body.
c. absol.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > control > be in control [verb (intransitive)] > regulate
to keep good quarter1608
direct1611
regulate1661
1611 Bible (King James) Ecclus. x. 10 Wisedom is profitable to direct . View more context for this quotation
4.
a. transitive. To cause (a thing or person) to move or point straight to or towards a place; to aim (a missile); to make straight (a course or way) to any point; to turn (the eyes, attention, mind) straight to an object, (a person or thing) to an aim, purpose, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > direction > direct [verb (transitive)]
intend?1504
direct1526
pointc1531
level1594
present1769
wenda1839
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > cause to move in a direction [verb (transitive)]
steerc888
righteOE
wisec1330
guy1362
makea1425
guide?a1505
to make forth1508
direct1526
to make out1560
bend1582
incline1597
work1667
usher1668
head1826
humour1847
vector1966
target1974
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel in specific course or direction > direct (one's course, steps, etc.) [verb (transitive)]
stretcha1225
turnc1275
ready?a1400
seta1400
incline?c1400
apply?a1425
raika1500
rechec1540
make1548
address1554
frame1576
bend1579
to shape one's course1593
intend1596
tend1611
direct1632
steer1815
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. aviii That vice yt moost maketh man lyke to beestes, and dyrecteth hym from god.
1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 137 Directe the ruler with hys two sightes unto anye one place.
1576 A. Fleming tr. Sulpicius in Panoplie Epist. 23 I came out of Asia, and directed my saile from Aegina towardes Megara.
1576 A. Fleming tr. Erasmus in Panoplie Epist. 350 But if he failed..in directing his shafte.
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. iii. 99 Directing his course to rush up on the face of a low Rocke.
1655 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. Ded. I Send this Booke to you because you, first directed me to this designe.
c1676 Lady Chaworth in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 31 I..had the good luck to escape the squibs..especially directed to the balcone over against me.
1680 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. xii. 213 Do not direct the cutting Corner of the Chissel inwards.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 160. ¶8 I directed my Sight as I was ordered.
1726 W. R. Chetwood Voy. & Adventures Capt. R. Boyle 31 They directed their Steps towards my Confinement.
1790 W. Paley Horæ Paulinæ i. 8 A different undertaking..and directed to a different purpose.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 26 Howe..directed all his sarcasms..against the malecontents.
1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits xv. 266 But the steadiness of the aim suggests the belief that this fire is directed..by older engineers.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. xxiv. 355 To direct attention to an extremely curious fact.
1867 S. Smiles Huguenots Eng. & Ireland i. 8 These measures were directed against the printing of religious works generally.
1871 B. Stewart Heat (ed. 2) §35 These telescopes are directed towards two marks.
1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues I. 198 Everybody's eyes were directed towards him.
1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People vi. §4. 302 The efforts of the French monarchy had been directed to the conquest of Italy.
absolute.1639 T. Fuller Hist. Holy Warre v. ix. 244 Good deeds which direct to happinesse.
b. To inform, instruct, or guide (a person), as to the way; to show (any one) the way.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > guidance in travel > show (the way) [verb (transitive)] > guide, lead, or show one the way
to show the waya1382
reduct1580
directa1616
inform1637
manuduct1641
pilot1649
set1678
airt1782
steer1859
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iv. iv. 7 Direct me, if it be your will, where great Auffidius lies. View more context for this quotation
1632 J. Hayward tr. G. F. Biondi Eromena 92 I would faine be so directed as I might..finde him out.
1896 N.E.D. at Direct Mod. Can you direct me to the nearest railway station?
†c. intransitive for reflexive. To point. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > direction > point or lie in a direction [verb (intransitive)]
goeOE
wendOE
runOE
stretchc1400
strike1456
extend1481
point?1518
address1523
passc1550
tend1574
trend1598
conduce1624
direct1665
verge1726
shape1769
1665 R. Hooke Micrographia 205 Little white brisles whose points all directed backwards.
1723 E. Chambers tr. S. Le Clerc Treat. Archit. I. 64 Care..taken that..each Plume direct to its Origin.
5.
a. transitive. To regulate the course of; to guide, conduct, lead; to guide with advice, to advise.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > advice > advise [verb (transitive)]
redeOE
rothec1175
beredea1225
counsel1297
informc1350
richc1400
accounsel1509
persuade1525
vise1528
underprompt1548
aread1559
resolve1579
direct1776–81
1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 11 Directe thy Chariot in a meane, clymbe thou not to hye.
1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. (1586) ii. 114 b [He] maketh her the starre by whose aspect he doth direct all his doings.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie i. xv. 16 b Having prepared a frigat to direct us.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice ii. vii. 13 Some God direct my iudgement. View more context for this quotation
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 5 Sharkes..are alwayes directed by a little specled fish, called a pilot fish.
1769 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) II. xxxv. 45 The choice of your friends has been singularly directed.
1776–81 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall (1875) xxvii. 440/2 The conscience of the credulous prince was directed by saints and bishops.
1856 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. v. 414 He directed, or attempted to direct, his conduct by the broad rules of what he thought to be just.
b. Music. To conduct (a musical performance).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > conducting > conduct [verb (transitive)]
conduct1791
direct1880
1880 G. Grove Dict. Music I. 390/1 At the concert which he had to direct (during the series of 1820).
1893 W. P. Courtney in Academy 13 May 413/1 The music..was composed and directed by Handel.
c. transitive and intransitive. To supervise and control the making of a film or the production of a play, etc.; to guide or train (an actor, etc.) in his performance. Originally U.S.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > the staging of a theatrical production > stage [verb (intransitive)] > direct
direct1913
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > the staging of a theatrical production > stage [verb (transitive)] > direct
direct1913
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > filming > film [verb (intransitive)] > direct
direct1913
1913 E. W. Sargent Technique Photoplay (ed. 2) xxix. 162 Director, one who produces photoplays, directing the preparation and action.
1933 Punch 6 Dec. 638/2 Little Robert Lynen..had he been properly directed would have us all in tears.
1938 W. S. Maugham Summing Up 154 The remedy of course is for the author to direct his own play.
1967 Listener 12 Jan. 59/1 Ronald Neame has directed efficiently.
6.
a. To give authoritative instructions to; to ordain, order, or appoint (a person) to do a thing, (a thing) to be done.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > command > command or bidding > command [verb (transitive)] > enjoin or instruct
enjoin1297
charge1303
informa1387
charche1399
inditec1399
joinc1400
instructa1500
encharge?1533
conjoin1591
ready1600
directa1616
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) v. vi. 280 A feigned Letter..which directed him To seeke her on the Mountaines. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iv. ii. 90 Ile first direct..my men, what they shall doe with the basket. View more context for this quotation
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. x. 457 He made fast the doore..as he was directed.
1727 D. Defoe Ess. Hist. Apparitions iii. 22 Whether he is ever sent or directed to come.
1747 in Colonial Rec. Pennsylvania (1851) V. 101 The Order of the King in Council which was directed to be laid before us.
1752 S. Johnson Rambler No. 200. ⁋14 One of the golden precepts of Pythagoras directs, that ‘a friend should not be hated for little faults’.
1873 Baroness Bunsen in A. J. C. Hare Life & Lett. Baroness Bunsen (1879) I. ii. 59 The seeming arbiter of war..directed his legions to remove from Boulogne.
1891 Law Times 92 107/1 Finally the master directed an issue to be tried.
b. intransitive or absol. To give directions; to order, appoint, ordain.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > command > command or bidding > command or give orders [verb (intransitive)] > enjoin or instruct
kenc1330
remit1544
directa1639
a1639 D. Digges Compl. Ambassador (1655) 6 Her skill and years was now to direct..not to be directed.
1700 S. L. tr. C. Frick Relation Voy. in tr. C. Frick & C. Schweitzer Relation Two Voy. E.-Indies 39 The President is one of the Council, but cannot direct in any thing of moment without the consent of the General.
1764 O. Goldsmith Traveller 4 Who can direct, when all pretend to know?
1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India II. v. v. 520 Cast their anchors as chance or convenience directed.
1888 Law Times' Rep. 59 165/1 [To] be conveyed to them as tenants in common, or joint tenants, as they should direct.
c. transitive. To order, appoint, prescribe (a thing to be done or carried out).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > command > command or bidding > command [verb (transitive)] > ordain, prescribe, or appoint
asetc885
teachc897
deemc900
ashapea1000
i-demeOE
setc1000
shiftc1000
stevenOE
redeOE
willOE
lookc1175
showc1175
stablea1300
devise1303
terminea1325
shapec1330
stightlea1375
determinec1384
judgea1387
sign1389
assize1393
statute1397
commanda1400
decree1399
yarka1400
writec1405
decreetc1425
rule1447
stallc1460
constitute1481
assignc1485
institute1485
prescribec1487
constitue1489
destinate1490
to lay down1493
make?a1513
call1523
plant1529
allot1532
stint1533
determ1535
appointa1538
destinec1540
prescrive1552
lot1560
fore-appoint1561
nominate1564
to set down1576
refer1590
sort1592
doom1594
fit1600
dictate1606
determinate1636
inordera1641
state1647
fix1660
direct1816
1816 M. Keating Trav. (1817) II. 20 On the present occasion, the alcaid..directed a different arrangement.
1863 H. Cox Inst. Eng. Govt. i. vii. 81 The House of Commons had directed an impeachment against Lord Treasurer Danby.
1883 Law Rep.: Queen's Bench Div. 11 591 [The Judge] was of opinion that the words above mentioned were privileged..and directed a nonsuit.
†d. To prescribe (medically). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > [verb (transitive)] > prescribe treatment
prescribe1533
prescrive1568
dictate1624
direct1754
1754–64 W. Smellie Treat. Midwifery III. 77 I directed some Thebaick drops.
e. In a national emergency, etc.: to assign (workers) to a particular industry or employment.
ΚΠ
1943 Hutchinson's Pict. Hist. War 17 Feb.–11 May 33 The keenness which was so wonderful a feature of the old volunteer Home Guard is no less marked in those who are known as the ‘directed men’.
1945 Yorks. Post 29 June Men and women who were released from the Forces to undertake civilian jobs into which they were directed by the Ministry of Labour.
1946 Lancet 5 Jan. 19/2 The charge that the Government was seeking to direct medical labour.
7. Astrology. To calculate the arc of direction of (a significator): see direction n. 10.
ΚΠ
1819 J. Wilson Compl. Dict. Astrol. (at cited word) Directions, Problem 1st.—To direct the Sun when not more than 2° distant from the cusp of the mid-heaven to any conjunction or aspect..Problem 7th.—To direct a significator with latitude to any conjunction or aspect.
8. Examples of direct as past participle = directed adj. (Cf. also directable adj.) Obsolete.
ΚΠ
c1386 G. Chaucer Man of Law's Tale 650 Another lettre wroght ful synfully, Vn to the kyng direct of this mateere.
1423 Kingis Quair lxii The ditee there I maid Direct to hire that was my hertis quene.
c1450 (c1390) G. Chaucer Complaint of Venus 75 Pryncesse, resceyveþe þis complaynt in gree Vn to youre excellent benignytee Dyrect.
c1450 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi iii. lxiv To þe are myn eyen dyrecte, my god, fader of mercies.
?1504 S. Hawes Example of Vertu sig. dd.ii Thrugh whome his subgectes be dyrect.
1512 Act 4 Hen. VIII c. 4 §1 One writte of proclamacion to be direct to the Shirif of the Countie.
1567 R. Sempill in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. 52 (title) Ane Exhortatioun derect to my Lord Regent.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1615adj.adv.c1400v.c1374
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