direct

Meanings

1. 1
   adv

   without deviation

   the path leads directly to the lake

2. 2
   adj

   (of a current) flowing in one direction only

   direct current

3. 3
   adj

   straightforward in means or manner or behavior or language or action

   a direct question

4. 4
   adj

   similar in nature or effect or relation to another quantity

   a term is in direct proportion to another term if it increases (or decreases) as the other increases (or decreases)

5. 5
   adj

   moving from west to east on the celestial sphere

   or--for planets--around the sun in the same direction as the Earth

6. 6
   adj

   having no intervening persons, agents, conditions

   in direct sunlight

7. 7
   adj

   in precisely the same words used by a writer or speaker

   a direct quotation

8. 8
   adj

   being an immediate result or consequence

   a direct result of the accident

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dīrēctus, perfect passive participle of dīrigō (“straighten, direct”), from dis- (“asunder, in pieces, apart, in two”) + regō (“make straight, rule”). Compare dress. Doublet of derecho. For the meaning development compare with Russian напра́вить (naprávitʹ, “to direct, to turn, to aim, to level, to point”), отпра́вить (otprávitʹ, “to send, to dispatch, to forward”) connected with пра́вить (právitʹ, “to govern, to rule, to drive, to steer”).