▪ I. direct, v.
(dɪˈrɛkt, daɪ-)
Also 5 de-, 5–6 dy-, 5 derekt, 6 Sc. direck.
[f. L. dīrect- (dērect-), ppl. stem of dīrigĕre (dē-) to straighten, set straight, direct, guide, f. dī- apart, asunder, distinctly (or dē- down) + regĕre to put or keep straight, to rule. It is probable that the ppl. adj. direct was first formed immediately from L. dīrect-us, and that this originated a verb of the same form: cf. -ate3 3. Both the pa. pple. 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: cf. also dress v.]
A. 1. trans. To write (something) directly or specially to a person, or for his special perusal; to address. † a. To dedicate (a treatise) to. Obs.
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus v. 1868 O morall Gower, this booke I directe To thee. 1447 O. Bokenham Seyntys (Roxb.) Introd. 7 You sone and fadyr to whom I dyrecte This symple tretyhs. 1555 Eden Decades 136 They dyrected and dedicated suche thinges to kynges and princes. 1581 Satir. Poems Reform. xliv. 2 To ȝou, ministers, and Prelattis of perdition, This schedul schort I do direct. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 129 The Treatise of English Dogs..translated by A.F. and directed to that noble Gesner. |
† b. To write (a letter or message) expressly
to. [L.
dirigere epistolam, 4th c., Servius and Jerome; also attributed by Servius to Cicero.]
Obs.| 1397 Rolls of Parlt. III. 378/2 As it is..declared in the same Commission directid to William Rikhill, Justice. 1467 Mann. & Househ. Exp. 173, I have reseyved ȝower moste grasyou[s] leter to me dereketed, to be wethe ȝowere hynes..the nexte morow after Kandelmas day. 1490 Caxton Eneydos xxii. 84 Yf he take the lettre vnto hym whome it is dyrected vnto. 1511–2 Act 3 Hen. VIII, c. 23 §5 The Kinges Highnes shall..direct his lettres missyves to twayn of his honourable Counseillours. 1535 Boorde Let. in Introd. Knowl. (1870) Foreward 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 Gay in Swift's 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.)
| 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. ii. 132 But Damosella virgin, Was this directed to you? 1642 King's Reply in Rushw. Hist. Coll. (1721) V. 63 His Message..was..taken..by the Earl of Essex, and though not to him directed, was by him opened. 1697 Lond. Gaz. No. 3334/4 The Box nail'd up and Directed to Mrs. Ann Perriot. 1713 Addison Guardian No. 123 ¶3 A letter folded up and directed to a certain nobleman. 1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World 134 Put them all up together in one packet, and direct them to me. 1855 Ld. Houghton in Life (1891) I. xi. 527 Lady Ellesmere's letter missed me altogether, although directed as I desired. |
| absol. 1707 Thoresby in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 337 If I had sooner known how to direct to you, I had long ago..written. 1751 Burke Corr. (1844) I. 26 Direct to me at Mr. Hipkis's, Ironmonger in Monmouth. 1775 Johnson Let. to Mrs. Thrale 6 June, I hope my sweet Queeney will write me a long letter, when..she knows how to direct to me. 1812 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 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.
arch.| c 1450 tr. De Imitatione i. xxiii, Þider directe praiers & daily mornynges wiþ teres. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, v. iii. 179 Words sweetly plac'd, and modest[l]ie directed. 1611 Bible Ps. v. 3 In the morning will I direct my prayer vnto thee. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxv. 131 To whom the Speech is directed. |
† b. To impart, communicate expressly, give in charge
to a person.
Obs.| a 1400 Pistill of Susan 278 He directed þis dom..To Danyel þe prophete. 1598 Barret Theor. Warres i. i. 1 The straite charges and commands directed from her Maiestie. 1633 Bp. Hall Hard Texts 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.
Obs.| 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. 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.
| c 1510 More Picus Wks. 32 O holy God..whiche heauen and earth directest all alone. 1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer 132 b (Commun. Coll.) To direct, sanctifye and gouerne, both our heartes and bodies. 1552 Abp. Hamilton Catech. (1884) 29 It [the eye] direckis al the membris of our bodie. 1713 Addison Cato i. i. 41 He..cover'd with Numidian Guards, directs A feeble army. 1847 Emerson Repr. Men, Napoleon Wks. (Bohn) I. 373 His grand weapon, namely, the millions whom he directed. 1883 Froude Short Stud. IV. i. i. 1 The mind, or spiritual part of man, ought to direct his body. |
c. absol.| 1611 Bible Eccl. x. 10 Wisedom is profitable to direct. |
4. a. trans. 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.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 95 Y⊇ vice y{supt} most maketh man lyke to beestes, & directeth hym from god. 1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 137 Directe the ruler with hys two sightes unto anye one place. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 23, I came out of Asia, and directed my saile from Aegina towardes Megara. Ibid. 350 But if he failed..in directing his shafte. 1632 Lithgow Trav. iii. 99 Directing his course to rush up on the face of a low Rocke. 1655 Stanley Hist. Philos. Ded., I send this book to you because you first directed me to this design. c 1676 Lady Chaworth in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 31, I..had the good luck to escape the squibs..especially directed to the balcone over against me. 1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 205 Do not direct the cutting Corner of the Chissel inwards. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 159 ¶8, I directed my Sight as I was ordered. 1726 Adv. Capt. R. Boyle 31 They directed their Steps towards my Confinement. 1790 Paley Horæ Paul. i. 8 A different undertaking..and directed to a different purpose. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 26 Howe..directed all his sarcasms..against the malecontents. 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, Times Wks. (Bohn) II. 119 But the steadiness of the aim suggests the belief that this fire is directed..by older engineers. 1860 Tyndall Glac. ii. xxiv. 355 To direct attention to an extremely curious fact. 1867 Smiles Huguenots Eng. i. (1880) 9 These measures were directed against the printing of religious works generally. 1871 B. Stewart Heat §35 These telescopes are directed towards two marks. 1874 Green Short Hist. vi. §4. 302 The efforts of the French monarchy had been directed to the conquest of Italy. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 207 Everybody's eyes were directed towards him. |
| absol. 1639 Fuller Holy War v. ix. (1647) 244 Good deeds w{supc}{suph} direct to happinesse. |
b. To inform, instruct, or guide (a person), as to the way; to show (any one) the way.
| 1607 Shakes. Cor. iv. iv. 7 Direct me, if it be your will, where great Auffidius lies. 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 92, I would faine be so directed as I might..finde him out. Mod. Can you direct me to the nearest railway station? |
† c. intr. for refl. To point.
Obs.| 1665 Hooke Microgr. 205 Little white brisles whose points all directed backwards. 1723 Chambers tr. Le Clerc's Treat. Archit. I. 64 Care..taken that..each Plume direct to its Origin. |
5. a. trans. To regulate the course of; to guide, conduct, lead; to guide with advice, to advise.
| 1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 11 Directe thy Chariot in a meane, clymbe thou not to hye. 1581 G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. ii. (1586) 114 b, [He] maketh her the starre by whose aspect he doth direct all his doings. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. xv. 16 b, Having prepared a frigat to direct us. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. ii. vii. 14 Some God direct my iudgement. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 5 Sharkes..are alwayes directed by a little specled fish, called a pilot fish. 1769 Junius Lett. xxxv. 162 The choice of your friends has been singularly directed. 1776–81 Gibbon Decl. & F. xxvii. (1875) 440/2 The conscience of the credulous prince was directed by saints and bishops. 1856 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. Mus. To conduct (a musical performance).
| 1880 Grove Dict. Mus. 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. trans. and intr. 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.
orig. U.S.| 1913 F. 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.
| 1598 Shakes. Merry W. iv. ii. 98 I'le first direct my men what they shall doe with the basket. 1611 ― Cymb. v. v. 280 A feigned Letter..which directed him To seeke her on the Mountaines. 1632 Lithgow Trav. x. 457 He made fast the doore..as he was directed. 1727 De Foe Hist. Appar. iii. (1840) 22 Whether he is ever sent or directed to come. 1747 Col. Rec. Pennsylv. V. 101 The Order of the King in Council which was directed to be laid before us. 1752 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 Hare Life (1879) I. ii. 59 The seeming arbiter of war..directed his legions to remove from Boulogne. 1891 Law Times XCII. 107/1 Finally the master directed an issue to be tried. |
b. intr. or absol. To give directions; to order, appoint, ordain.
| 1655 Digges Compl. Ambass. 6 Her skill and years was now to direct..not to be directed. 1700 S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 39 The President is one of the Council, but cannot direct in any thing of moment without the consent of the General. 1764 Goldsm. Trav. 64 Who can direct, when all pretend to know? 1818 Jas. Mill Brit. India II. v. v. 520 Cast their anchors as chance or convenience directed. 1888 Law Times' Rep. LIX. 165/1 [To] be conveyed to them as tenants in common, or joint tenants, as they should direct. |
c. trans. To order, appoint, prescribe (a thing to be done or carried out).
| 1816 Keatinge Trav. (1817) II. 20 On the present occasion, the alcaid..directed a different arrangement. 1863 H. Cox Instit. i. vii. 81 The House of Commons had directed an impeachment against Lord Treasurer Danby. 1883 Law Rep. 11 Q. Bench Div. 591 [The Judge] was of opinion that the words above mentioned were privileged..and directed a nonsuit. |
† d. To prescribe (medically).
Obs.| 1754–64 Smellie Midwif. III. 77, I directed some Thebaick drops. |
e. In a national emergency, etc.: to assign (workers) to a particular industry or employment.
| 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 Yorkshire 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. Astrol. To calculate the arc of direction of (a significator): see
direction 10.
| 1819 J. Wilson Compl. Dict. Astrol. s.v. 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. |
† B. Examples of
direct as
pa. pple. = directed. (
Cf. also next.)
Obs.| c 1386 Chaucer Man of Law's T. 650 Another lettre wroght ful synfully, Vn to the kyng direct of this mateere. c 1392 ― Compl. Venus 75 Pryncesse, resceyveþe þis complaynt in gree Vn to youre excellent benignytee Dyrect. 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. lxii, The ditee there I maid Direct to hire that was my hertis quene. c 1450 tr. De Imitatione iii. lxiv, To þe are myn eyen dyrecte, my god, fader of mercies. 1503 Hawes Examp. Virt. vii. 126 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 Satir. Poems Reform. (1890) vi. (title), Ane Exhortation derect to my Lord Regent. |
▪ II. direct, a. and adv. (
dɪˈrɛkt,
daɪ-)
Also 4–6
dy-,
directe, 6
derect.
[prob. a. F. direct (13th c. in Godef. Suppl.) = Pr. direct, It. diretto, Sp. derecho right, ad. L. dīrect-us (dērectus), pa. pple. of dīrigĕre, dērigĕre: see direct v. The pa. pple. was used as a simple adj. already in Latin. For the strictly ppl. use in Eng. see after prec. vb.] A. adj. 1. a. In reference to space: Straight; undeviating in course; not circuitous or crooked.
| [1391: see c.] 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. IV 13 The confederates..toke the directe way..toward Windsor. 1559 Cunningham Cosmogr. Glasse 60 The directe distance from Portsmouth to Barwicke, is 330. miles. 1699 W. Dampier Voy. II. iii. 10 Being the directest Course they can steer for Barbadoes. 1748 Relat. Earthq. Lima 40 The Streets are in a direct Line, and of a convenient Breadth. 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 142 ¶1 We turned often from the direct road to please ourselves with the view. 1834 Medwin Angler in Wales II. 90, I soon left the horseroad, and took a direct line over black heathery hills. 1874 Morley Compromise (1886) 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
attrib. to designate (
a) in
Photogr., 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 (
attrib.), 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
direct 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.
| 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), 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 Connect. Phys. Sc. xxvi. 277 Places sheltered from the direct rays of the sun. 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. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), 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. 1876 Catal. Sc. App. S. Kens. Mus. §1802 The instrument..may be used as a small direct vision spectroscope. 1911 B. E. Jones Cassell's Cycl. Photogr. 188 Direct finder, or direct-vision finder, a finder in which the view or object is inspected direct. 1915 ― Cinemat. Bk. iii. 19 A wire-frame direct-vision finder..is fitted in addition. 1937 Discovery Oct. 317/1 The receiver itself is a 23-valve superhet model with a direct vision television picture. 1952 Howe & Ducloux tr. Kerkhof & Werner's Television (Photo 36), Television picture with 625 lines, as reproduced by a direct-vision receiver. Ibid. 408 Direct-vision tube, picture tube intended for direct viewing without magnification. 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. 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. |
† c. phr. in direct of: in a straight line with.
| c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. ii. §44 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. Ibid., Wryte þat þou findest in directe of the same planete þat þou worchyst fore. |
2. a. Moving, proceeding, or situated at right angles or perpendicularly to a given surface, etc.; not oblique.
| 1563 W. Fulke Meteors (1640) 4 b, In places where the beames are cast indirectly and obliquely, and that where they are not too nigh to the direct beames, nor too far off from them, there is a moderate heate. 1658 Dugdale in Sir T. Browne Hydriot. (1736) 50 Some of them are..Twenty Feet in direct Height from the Level whereon they stand. 1660 F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 322 Ships cannot enter it without a direct wind. 1700 S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. into E. I. 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.
| 1659 D. Pell Impr. Sea To Rdr. D v b, note, They are like a direct North Dial, that hath but morning and evening hours on it. 1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 310 Of Dyal Planes some be Direct, others Decliners, others Oblique. 1727–51 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Dial, Dials which respect the cardinal points of the horizon, are called direct dials..North Dial or erect direct north Dial, is that described on the surface of the prime vertical looking northward. |
c. Mil. 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°.
| 1851 J. S. Macaulay Field Fortif. 8 The defence is called direct when the flanking line is perpendicular to the line flanked; when not perpendicular, it is termed oblique. 1879 Man. Artill. Exerc. i. v. 24 Direct fire at masonry is either for demolition or for breaching. |
d. Mech. (see
quot.).
| 1879 Thomson & Tait Nat. Phil. I. 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. Cryst. Opposed to
oblique: see
quot.| 1878 Gurney Crystallogr. 65 Those [rhombohedrons] in which the unequal index is algebraically greater than the equal indices are called direct. 1895 Story-Maskelyne Crystallogr. 141 and 312. |
3. Astron. 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.
| c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. ii. §35 heading, This is the workinge of the conclusioun, to knowe yif that any planete be directe or retrograde. Ibid., 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. 1700 Dryden Fables, Palamon & Arc. ii. 616 Two geomantick figures were displayed..a warrior and a maid, One when direct, and one when retrograde. 1726 tr. Gregory's Astron. I. iii. 453 After the Planet which is nearer to the Sun, has pass'd the second Station at d, it becomes direct again. 1786–7 Bonnycastle Astron. 419 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.| 1494 Fabyan Chron. v. lxxvi. 54, 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.
| 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. IV, 21 b, Edmonde Mortimer..then next and direct heire of England and of Fraunce. 1600 E. Blount tr. Conestaggio 117 The last King of Portugall, in whom ended the direct masculine line. a 1661 Fuller Worthies, Warwicksh. (1662) 126 Sir James Drax, a direct descendant from the Heirs male. 1727–51 Chambers Cycl. s.v., Direct, 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.
| 1828 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 Bowen Logic viii. 243 In the other Figures, there are two indifferent Conclusions, neither of which is more direct or immediate than the others. 1891 Welton Logic I. iv. iv. 422 Reduction is direct when the original conclusion is deduced from premises derived from those given. Ibid. 426 This indirect process is not reduction in the same sense as the direct method is. |
d. Math. Following the simple or natural order: opposed to
inverse: see
quots.| 1594 Blundevil Exerc. i. xi. (ed. 7) 33 Working by the common or direct Rule of Three. 1727–51 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Direct. 1806 Hutton Course Math. I. 44 The Rule of Three Direct is that in which more requires more, or less requires less. 1807 Ibid. 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 Nat. Philos. 64 In the direct ratio of the arms of the lever. |
e. direct opposite or
direct 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.
| 1786 Burke W. Hastings Wks. 1842 II. 173 He had not scrupled to assert the direct contrary of the positions by him maintained. 1875 Jowett Plato (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).
| 1828 Webster s.v., 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 ― Direct chord (Mus.), one in which the fundamental tone is the lowest. 1867 Macfarren 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 Grove Dict. Mus. 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.
| 1530 Palsgr. 387 ‘To serve you’ maketh a dyrecte answere to the questyon. 1535 Coverdale Job xxxviii. 3, I will question the, se thou geue me a dyrecte answere. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. xix. (Arb.) 238 Which had bene the directer speech and more apert. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. v. iv. 90, I durst go no further then the lye circumstantial: nor he durst not giue me the lye direct. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xviii. 93 If the Soveraign Power..be not in direct termes renounced. 1759 Robertson Hist. Scot. I. iv. 308 No direct evidence had as yet appeared against Bothwell. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 114 They ventured to bring direct charges against the Treasurer. 1888 R. Kipling Plain Tales from Hills (1891) 245 This was at once a gross insult and a direct lie. |
b. Straightforward in manner or conduct; upright, downright.
| 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary i. (1625) 31 Just or unjust, godly or wicked, direct or indirect, worthy or to be dis⁓praised. 1602 Shakes. Ham. ii. ii. 298 Be euen and direct with me, whether you were sent for or no. 1604 ― Oth. iii. iii. 378 Take note, take note, (O World!) To be direct and honest, is not safe. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. i. v. 17 Yet was the Idolatry direct and downe-right in the people. 1768 Sterne Sent. Journ. (1778) I. 168 (Pulse) When my views are direct..I care not if all the world saw me. 1792 A. Young Trav. France 279 His conduct in the revolution has been direct and manly. 1871 Morley Voltaire (1886) 9 If he was bitter, he was still direct. 1894 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).
| 1668 Pepys Diary 19 Aug., What should it be but Jane, in a fit of direct raving, which lasted half an hour. 1751 R. Paltock P. Wilkins (1784) II. 232 I then perceived they were direct forges. |
6. a. Effected or existing without intermediation or intervening agency; immediate.
| 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. iv. i. 350 That by direct, or indirect attempts He seeke the life of any Citizen. 1601 ― All's Well iii. vi. 9 In mine owne direct Knowledge, with⁓out any malice..he's a most notable Coward. 1805 Foster Ess. i. ii. 29 Direct companionship with a few. 1820 Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. II. 356 The fisher is liable to receive..direct blows from its fins or tail. 1860 Ruskin Mod. Paint. V. ix. i. 202 The directest manifestation of Deity to man is in His own image, that is, in man. 1863 Bright Sp. America 30 June, There is no man in England who has a more direct interest in it than I have. 1891 Law Times XCI. 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.
| 1727–51 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Direct, A very good historian uses the phrase Direct Speech, or harangue, when he introduces any one speaking, or haranguing of himself. 1879 Roby Latin Gram. ii. iv. xxiii. 325 The indicative expresses a fact; or a direct statement of opinion of the writer or speaker. Ibid. 333 A direct question (or exclamation) is put in the indicative mood. |
c. Biol. Of cell division: Effected without the formation of nuclear figures; amitotic.
| 1888 Rolleston & Jackson Anim. Life 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.
| [1842 Penny Cycl. XXII. 507/1 [It] effects the direct connection of the piston with the crank. Ibid. 507/2 Engines of direct connection.] 1843 Proc. Inst. Civil Engin. II. 69 The comparatively recent introduction of direct-action steam-engines on board the steam-vessels of the Royal Navy. 1857 Chambers Information I. 396 The best and simplest form of direct-acting engine is that known as the oscillating. 1874 Knight Dict. Mech. I. 356/1 (Westinghouse-brake) A small but powerful direct-acting steam-engine..operates the air-pump. Ibid. 705 In Napier's direct-action steam-engine, the beam is retained, but only for the purpose of working the pumps. 1878 Proc. Inst. Civil Engin. LIII. 98 (title) Direct Acting or Non-Rotative Pumping Engines and Pumps. Ibid. 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
attrib. Hence
direct actioner,
direct actionist, one who engages in direct action.
| 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. & B. Webb Hist. Trade Un. (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 Edin. 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.–Apr. 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.
| 1776 Adam Smith W.N. v. ii. (1869) II. 442 There are..two different circumstances which render the interest of money a much less proper subject of direct taxation than the rent of land. 1801 A. Hamilton Wks. (1886) VII. 192 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 in Life (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 Webster s.v., Direct tax is a tax assessed on real estate, as houses and lands. 1845 M{supc}Culloch Taxation Introd. (1852) 1 A Tax is called 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 Disraeli Sybil (1863) 220 The ruinous mystification that metamorphosed direct taxation by the Crown into indirect taxation by the Commons. 1849 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).
| 1898 S. S. Dawson Accountant's Compendium 71/1 The prime cost..is the original or direct cost of same. 1903 Encycl. Accounting II. 263 These ‘expenses’ or charges are broadly divisible into ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’. 1922 J. D. Hackett in Management Engineering Feb., Absence, such as is being considered here, applies mainly to direct or ‘productive’ labor and not to indirect or ‘non-productive’ employees. 1923 Ibid. May, Direct labor, work done exclusively in the making of a product, in contradistinction to subsidiary work also necessary for production. 1925 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 a. 1 c.
| 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVII. 558/1 Direct Colours.—The characteristic feature of the dyestuffs belonging to this class is that they dye cotton ‘direct’. Ibid. 558/2 Wool and silk are dyed with the Direct Colours in the same manner as cotton. 1927 Horsfall & Lawrie Dyeing of 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.| 1875 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. CXII. 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;
abbrev. DBS s.v. D III. 3; also
direct broadcast or
direct broadcasting satellite.
| [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: Written Answers 13 Mar. 652 Mr. Charles Irving asked..whether there are any plans to establish direct broadcasting by satellite in the United Kingdom. 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). 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 Direct-broadcast satellite [see DBS s.v. D III. 3]. 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. |
7. direct address Computing, an address (
address n. 7 c) which specifies the location of data to be used as an operand;
cf. indirect address s.v. indirect a. 2 a; hence
direct addressing vbl. n.;
direct-arc furnace, an electric-arc furnace in which the arc is formed between an electrode and the charge in the furnace;
direct-connected a. = next (
a);
direct-coupled a., (
a) coupled without an intermediate transmission device; (
b) in
Electr., applied to two 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; so
direct coupling;
direct coupler (see
quot.);
direct current Electr., a current flowing in one direction only, as distinguished from an alternating current;
abbrev. d.c.,
D.C.; also
attrib.;
direct-cut a., 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);
direct dialling Teleph., 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 s.v. subscriber 3; hence (as a back-formation)
direct-dial v. trans.;
direct distance dialling U.S. Teleph. = direct dialling above;
direct drilling Agric., the practice of sowing seed by drill into soil which has not been specially cultivated after harvesting the previous crop;
direct grant, a grant of money paid directly to a school by the government;
freq. attrib.,
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
ellipt.;
direct injection, 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;
usu. attrib.; so
direct-injected adj.;
direct mail, advertising matter or the like sent through the post to prospective customers; also
attrib.;
direct method, 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
attrib.;
direct-reading, applied
attrib. to a measuring instrument calibrated in the actual quantity measured;
direct realism Philos., the theory that in perception we are directly aware of external or physical objects as they really are;
direct rule, 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 N. Ireland;
contr. with
indirect rule s.v. indirect a. 2 a;
cf. Home Rule;
direct sowing Forestry (see
quot. 1891);
direct voice Spiritualism, speech said to emanate directly from a disembodied spirit, without using a medium.
| 1964 Honeywell Gloss. Data Processing 1/2 *Direct address. 1963 IBM Systems Jrnl. II. 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. 1985 Computerworld 22 Apr. 76/1 A random-access memory disk..does not offer the instant gratification of direct address. |
| 1921 J. N. Pring Electric 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. |
| 1901 Feilden's Mag. IV. 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 Simpson & Richards Junction Transistors ix. 214 Another very useful direct-coupled amplifier is the Darlington compound connection. |
| 1916 Standard Rules Amer. Inst. Electr. Engin. 97 *Direct coupler, an apparatus which magnetically joins two circuits having a common conductive portion. |
| 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's Electr. Dict. 119/1 Direct coupling, connecting the shaft of a dynamo armature directly to the shaft which drives it. 1931 Moyer & 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. |
| [1886 Jrnl. Soc. Telegr. Engin. XV. 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 Electr. Words 165 *Direct current. 1893 D. C. Jackson 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 XLI. 623/2 The general merits of alternate-current, as against those of the direct-current systems. 1915 Hawkhead & Dowsett Techn. Instr. Wireless Telegr. 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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? 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. |
| 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 (B.B.C.) 29 June B/1 Changchun City telecommunication bureau has installed direct distance dialling equipment. |
| 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. |
| 1945 Guide to Educational System (Min. Education) 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’. Ibid., 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. |
| 1962 Economist 17 Mar. 1039/2 By making it reversible, lighter, faster and *direct-injected, the company turned the diesel into a marine engine. |
| 1935 Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. XXXIX. 802 Americans to give serious attention to the *direct-injection engine, thus eliminating the carburettor. |
| 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 x. 109 Direct mail advertising of this type can create a big response. Ibid. 110 Another useful direct mail prestige advertisement which many shops use is to send a Christmas card to all their regular customers. |
| 1904 S. Bertelsen tr. Jespersen's 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 Scientific Study & Teaching of Lang. iv. 72 In many cases..the Direct Method..resolves itself into the negative precept: there must be no translation. |
| 1885 Jrnl. Soc. Telegr. Engin. XIV. 497 Ten years ago hardly anyone had even seen a *direct-reading instrument. 1887 Ibid. XVI. 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. |
| 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. |
| 1922 F. D. Lugard Dual Mandate in Brit. Tropical Africa 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.’ |
| 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. |
| 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 {pstlg}1,000 to any medium who can produce physical phenomena such as materialisation, levitation or direct voice under test conditions. |
B. adv. = directly.
a. Straight in direction or aspect.
b. Immediately.
c. Absolutely, exactly.
d. Comb. with
adjs., as
direct acting (see A 6 d),
direct-dealing.
| c 1450 Henryson Test. Cres. (R.), Her [Venus'] golden face in oppositioun Of God Phebus direct descending down. ? a 1550 Freiris of Berwik 342 in Dunbar's Poems (1893) 296 And to the eist direct he turnis his face. 1614 Rowlands Fooles Bolt 14 Saying grace in mentall wise, Holding his Hatt direct before his eyes. 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 526 Direct against which op'nd from beneath..A passage down to th' Earth. 1743 Chesterfield Lett. I. xcix. 277 You will observe, they are direct contrary subjects. 1830 Westminst. Rev. XII. 292 We do not think that any direct-dealing man..can admire the figure. 1840 Macaulay Ess., Ranke (1854) 556/2 His orders have come down to him..direct from on high. 1868 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) II. App. 669 He fancies that the embassy went direct to Hungary. 1880 Law Rep. 29 Ch. Div. 460 This property is held direct from the Crown. 1884 Ibid. 9 App. Cases 1 Securities..procurable only from the corporations direct. |
▸ 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.
| 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. |
▸
Association Football. Designating a free kick from which a goal may be scored directly.
Cf. indirect adj. Additions.
| 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. |
▸
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.
| 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. |
▸
direct marketing n. orig. 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).
| 1912 Rep. Committee on Markets, Prices & Costs of 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. 1913C. 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. |
▸
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
attrib.| [1947 Jrnl. Marketing Oct. 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.] 1953H. C. Levinson in Jrnl. Operations Res. Soc. of 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’. |
▪ III. direct, n. (
dɪˈrɛkt)
[app. f. direct v.] 1. gen. A direction.
| 1615 T. Adams Lycanthropy 4 ‘Behold’! is..in Holy Writ, evermore the avant-courier of some excellent thing..It is a direct, a reference, a dash of the Holy Ghost's pen. |
2. Mus. A sign ({mostra}) placed on the stave at the end of a page or line to indicate the position of the following note.
| 1674 Playford Skill Mus. i. xi. 35 A Direct is usually at the end of a Line, and serves to direct to the place of the first Note on the next Line. 1880 Grove Dict. Mus. I. 448/2 Direct, a mark ({mostra}) 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 a. 1 c.