Etymologically
Log in

directio

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 23:25. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

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]

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