indirectus

Forms

indīrēctus (feminine indīrēcta, neuter indīrēctum); first/second-declension adjective^[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin in- + dīrēctus (“straight”), the negative prefix with the adjective “straight”.^[3][2][4] Köbler refers dīrēctus further to dis- and regō (“to guide, direct”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds it first as the adverb indīrēctō, “by a slanting course”, in a poem of Venantius Fortunatus.^[3][2] Gaffiot cites it from Quintilian,^[1] but Lewis & Short call that a false reading for inde recta,^[5] and the TLL also sets aside a reading in Gaius as falsely transmitted.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Medieval Latin it was a common word.^[6][7] Literally it meant not straight: winding, curved or crooked, of walls, roads and rivers, and also uneven or hilly ground.^[6][7][8] Figuratively it meant indirect or devious,^[7][8] perverse or unreasonable,^[6] and in legal use unlawful.^[9] In Hungarian and Polish documents it also meant done through someone else, indirect, and the phrase per indīrēctum meant “in a roundabout way, indirectly”.^[9][8] British sources use it for what has not been set right, and as a noun for the reverse side of a quilt.^[7] English indirect, from the late 14th century, comes from Old French or directly from this Latin word.^[4]

Timeline

• 536–c. 610 AD – Venantius Fortunatus uses the adverb indīrēctō.^[3][2]
• before 1172 – Eberhard of Bamberg uses it.^[2]
• c. 1210 – A letter speaks of a taunt that is “not oblique, not indirect, but open”.^[7]
• 1251 – A Polish charter uses it of the winding course of a stream.^[8]
• 1285 – An English account uses it as a noun for the reverse side of a fabric.^[7]
• 13th century – Albertus Magnus uses it.^[2]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as indirect.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Not straight; winding, circuitous, crooked.^[6][7][8]
2. Uneven, hilly.^[6]
3. (figurative) Indirect, not straightforward, devious.^[7][8][10]
4. Perverse, unreasonable;^[6][9] (law) unlawful.^[6][9]
5. Done through another, indirect;^[9][8] per indīrēctum, indirectly.^[9][8]
6. Not set right, uncorrected.^[7]

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) The reverse side of a quilt or similar fabric.^[7]
2. (Medieval Latin) A curve, curvature.^[6]

Related words

• directus
• English indirect

References

1. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
2. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
9. ^ a b c d e f Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
10. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson