diretto Italian · revision 38709

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1321, Dante|origins=ine-pro *h₃reǵ-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /diˈrɛt.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''diretto''' (feminine diretta, masculine plural diretti, feminine plural dirette, superlative direttissimo)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|dīrēctus|t=straight; directed]], a learned word, the past participle of [[m|la|dīrigō|t=to align, direct]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary) Latin also had [[m|la|dērēctus]], and the LEI notes that the senses “straight”, “frank, without mediation” and “steep” were all Latin.^(LEI|2, 588) The verb, older [[m|la|dērigō]], is a compound of [[m|la|regō|t=to direct, guide]], from [[ine-pro|*h₃reǵ-|t=to stretch, direct]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The inherited outcomes of the same Latin word are [[diritto]] and [[dritto]], doublets of this word, and [[ro|drept]], [[fr|droit]], [[es|derecho]] and [[pt|direito]].^(Wiktionary)^(REW 1935)^(LEI|2, 588) As a boxing term the word is a calque of [[en|direct]], and [[direttivo]] and [[direttiva]] come from [[fr|directif]] and [[fr|directive]].^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first records are in Dante, before 1321, for “directed, aimed” and “without deviations”.^(DELI 1999) Nocentini and Devoto–Oli date the word to the early 14th century.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) 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”).^(GDLI|4, 533)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old Italian ''diretto'' could also mean “right, just”, and ''mano diretta'' was the right hand.^(DEI|1318) The sense “immediate” is recorded before 1527 in Machiavelli.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ 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.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) GRADIT describes the ''diretto'' as slower than the ''espresso'', with more stops.^(GRADIT 2003) ''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).^(DELI 1999) The boxing sense, a straight punch, dates from 1914.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses ''diretto'' for “aimed” and “straight”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1527 – Machiavelli uses it for “immediate”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1874 – The ''Gazzetta di Venezia'' uses ''diretto'' for a train.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1874 – ''Direttissimo'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1904 – ''Direttissima'' names a direct railway line.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1914 – The boxing sense, after English ''direct'', appears.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Heading for, on the way to (with ''a'' or ''in''): ''Sono diretta in ufficio.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Addressed to someone; [[m|en|aimed]] at a purpose: ''Era una critica diretta a tutti noi.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Conducted, managed: ''un'orchestra diretta da un giovane maestro''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # [[m|en|direct]], going straight without deviations or stops; of light, not filtered or reflected.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Without intermediaries; immediate: ''Ho un contatto diretto con il produttore.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # Of a question, answer or person, coming straight to the point, [[m|en|frank]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Directly, straight: ''Dopo il lavoro vado diretto a casa.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A train that stops only at the main stations, slower than an express.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(boxing)'' A [[m|en|straight]], a punch thrown in a straight line.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[direttamente]]

+ * [[indiretto]]

+ * [[direttissimo]]

+ * [[direttissima]]

+ * [[diretta]]

+ * [[semidiretto]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[dirigere]]

+ * [[direzione]]

+ * [[direttivo]]

+ * [[direttiva]]

+ * [[diritto]]

+ * [[dritto]]

+ * [[la|dīrēctus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}