directory

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A list of names, addresses etc, of specific classes of people or organizations, often in alphabetical order or in some classification.

   look up an address in the directory

2. 2
   noun

   A form of government with a collegial executive whose members jointly exercise power; the executive of such a government.

   […] at the Ufa State Conference it was it was the union's conception of a directory (rather than a dictatorship) to rule anti-Bolshevik Russia that won the day.

3. 3
   noun

   an alphabetical list of names and addresses

4. 4
   noun

   (computer science) a listing of the files stored in memory (usually on a hard disk)

5. 5
   noun

   A structured listing of the names and characteristics of the files on a storage device.

6. 6
   noun

   A virtual container in a computer's file system, in which files and other directories may be stored. The files and subdirectories in a directory are usually related.

7. 7
   adj

   Containing directions; instructing; directorial.

Etymology

From Middle English directorie, dyrectorye, from Medieval Latin dīrēctōrium. By surface analysis, direct + -ory. Doublet of directorium. The political sense is a semantic loan from French directoire.