diretto

Forms

diretto (feminine diretta, masculine plural diretti, feminine plural dirette, superlative direttissimo)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin dīrēctus (“straight; directed”), a learned word, the past participle of dīrigō (“to align, direct”).^{[2][3][4][5][1]} Latin also had dērēctus, and the LEI notes that the senses “straight”, “frank, without mediation” and “steep” were all Latin.^[6] The verb, older dērigō, is a compound of regō (“to direct, guide”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to stretch, direct”).^[7][1]

The inherited outcomes of the same Latin word are diritto and dritto, doublets of this word, and Romanian drept, French droit, Spanish derecho and Portuguese direito.^[1][8][6] As a boxing term the word is a calque of English direct, and direttivo and direttiva come from French directif and French directive.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first records are in Dante, before 1321, for “directed, aimed” and “without deviations”.^[2] Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date the word to the early 14th century.^[2][3][5] GDLI quotes the Paradiso: whatever this bow shoots falls disposed to a foreseen end, “sì come cocca in suo segno diretta” (“like an arrow aimed at its mark”).^[9]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian diretto could also mean “right, just”, and mano diretta was the right hand.^[10] The sense “immediate” is recorded before 1527 in Machiavelli.^[2]

The railways gave the noun: a diretto was a train faster than the local one, recorded in the Gazzetta di Venezia in 1874, and the faster direttissimo appears in the same year.^[2][3] GRADIT describes the diretto as slower than the espresso, with more stops.^[4] Direttissima named the most direct railway line (1904), then the most direct route to a summit in mountaineering (1942), and per direttissima a summary trial without preliminary investigation (1905).^[2] The boxing sense, a straight punch, dates from 1914.^[2]

Timeline

• Before 1321 – Dante uses diretto for “aimed” and “straight”.^[2]
• Before 1527 – Machiavelli uses it for “immediate”.^[2]
• 1874 – The Gazzetta di Venezia uses diretto for a train.^[2]
• 1874 – Direttissimo is recorded.^[3]
• 1904 – Direttissima names a direct railway line.^[2]
• 1914 – The boxing sense, after English direct, appears.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Heading for, on the way to (with a or in): Sono diretta in ufficio.^[4][5][1]
2. Addressed to someone; aimed at a purpose: Era una critica diretta a tutti noi.^[4][5][11]
3. Conducted, managed: un'orchestra diretta da un giovane maestro.^[4][5]
4. direct, going straight without deviations or stops; of light, not filtered or reflected.^[4][5][11]
5. Without intermediaries; immediate: Ho un contatto diretto con il produttore.^[4][5]
6. Of a question, answer or person, coming straight to the point, frank.^[4][5]

Adverb

1. Directly, straight: Dopo il lavoro vado diretto a casa.^[4][1]

Noun

1. A train that stops only at the main stations, slower than an express.^[4][5][1]
2. (boxing) A straight, a punch thrown in a straight line.^[4][2][1]

Word family

• direttamente
• indiretto
• direttissimo
• direttissima
• diretta
• semidiretto

Related words

• dirigere
• direzione
• direttivo
• direttiva
• diritto
• dritto
• Latin dīrēctus

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 2, 588
7. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 4, 533
10. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1318
11. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse