directio

Forms

dīrēctiō f (genitive dīrēctiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin dīrigō (“to set straight, direct”) + -tiō,^[2][1] from dis- and regō “to guide”.^[3] It is also spelled dērēctiō.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Vitruvius uses it of the levelling of paving joints.^[2][4] Köbler dates him c. 84–c. 25 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It was a rare word: in Vitruvius it meant alignment and levelling, and in Apuleius' On the World a straight line.^[2][4][6] Quintilian uses it of directing the reason towards truth.^[2] Late Christian writers gave it the moral sense of righteousness, uprightness.^[4]

In medieval Latin it was fairness, equity, justice and the administration of justice.^[7] British writers used it of movement in a straight line and in astronomy of the direct motion of a planet.^[8] English direction is recorded in the late 14th century as the action of directing.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it of levelling.^[2][5]
• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of directing the reason.^[2][5]
• late 14th century – English direction is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. Alignment, levelling; a straight line.^[2][4]
2. The act of directing, aiming, direction.^[2][1]
3. (Late Latin) Righteousness.^[4][1]
4. (Medieval Latin) Fairness, equity; justice.^[7]
5. (Medieval Latin, astronomy) Direct motion of a planet.^[8]

Related words

• dīrēctus
• dīrigō
• English direction

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press