Etymologically
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directory

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 13:18. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /dɪˈrek.tər.i/, /daɪˈrek.tər.i/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin dīrēctōrium (“a guide”), the noun use of the neuter of Late Latin dīrēctōrius (“directive”),[2][3][4] from Latin dīrēctus (“set straight”), the past participle of dīrigō (“to set straight, guide”) (see direct).[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A guide: the mid-15th century in Etymonline;[2] the adjective, guiding, before 1450 in the OED.[5]

Semantic evolution

A book of rules, especially of church services, is from 1543.[5][2][3] The Westminster Assembly's directory for public worship dates from 1644,[5] and the Roman Catholic manual for the daily office from 1759.[5] An alphabetical list of the inhabitants of a place is from 1732,[2][5] and the telephone directory from 1908.[2][5] A board of directors is a directory by 1803, especially the French Directoire, the five-man government of 1795–99.[2][6] In computing a directory lists the files on a disk.[7][6]

Timeline

  • before 1450 – guiding (adjective).[5]
  • 1543 – a book of rules.[5]
  • 1644 – the Westminster directory.[5]
  • 1732 – a list of inhabitants.[2][5]
  • by 1803 – a board of directors.[2]
  • 1908 – a telephone directory.[2][5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A book listing the names, addresses and telephone numbers of people or firms.
  2. (computing) A list of the files on a disk, or an area of a disk that holds them; a folder.
  3. A book of directions, especially of rules for church worship.

Adjective

  1. Serving to direct.

Word family

  • ex-directory
  • directory assistance

Usage notes

With a capital, the Directory was the body of five directors that governed France from 1795 until Napoleon overthrew it in 1799.[6]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin