Direct | Webster's Dictionary (1865)

Dī-rēct’, a.

adjective

a. [Lat. directus, p. p. of dirigere; Fr. & Pr. direct. See infra.]

Sense 1. Straight; not crooked, oblique, or circuitous; leading immediately to a point or end; as, a direct line; direct means. “What is direct to, what slides by, the question.” Locke.

Sense 2. Straightforward; not of crooked ways, or swerving from truth and openness; sincere; outspoken.

Be even and direct with me. Shak.

Sense 3. Immediate; express; unambiguous; confessed; absolute.

A direct and avowed interference with elections. Hallam.

Sense 4. In the line of descent; not collateral; as, a descendant in the direct line.

Sense 5. (Astron.) In the direction of the general planetary motion, or from west to east; in the order of the signs; not retrograde; — said of the motion of a celestial body.

Direct chord (Mus.), one in which the fundamental tone is the lowest.—Direct fire (Mil.), one the direction of which is perpendicular to the line of troops or to the parapet aimed at.—Direct motion (Mus.), Parallel motion, when two or more parts in harmony move up or down together.—Direct tax, a tax assessed directly on possessions, incomes, or polls, distinguished from taxes on merchandise, or customs, and from excise.

Dĭ-rĕct', v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. [imp. & p. p. DIRECTED; p. pr. & vb. n. DIRECTING.] [Lat. dirigere, directum, from di, for dis, and regere, to keep or lead straight, direct; It. dirigere, direggere, Pr., Sp., & Pg. dirigir, Fr. diriger.]

To give direction or bearing to; to aim; to point; as, to direct an arrow or piece of ordnance.
To determine the direction or course of; to cause to go on in a particular manner; to regulate; to govern; as, to direct the affairs of a nation.
To point out the proper course to; to put upon the right track; to guide; as, he directed me to the left-hand road.
To point out to with authority; to instruct as a superior; to order; as, he directed them to go.
To put a direction or address upon; to mark with the name and residence of the person to whom any thing is sent; to superscribe; as, to direct a letter.

Syn.—To guide; lead; conduct; dispose; manage; regulate; order; instruct; command.

Di-rĕct', v. i.

verbintransitive

v. i. To give direction; to point out a course; to act as guide. Wisdom is profitable to direct. Eccles. x. 10.

Di-rēct', n.

noun

n. (Mus.) A character, thus [~], placed at the end of a staff on the line or space of the first note of the next staff, to apprise the performer of its situation. Moore.