direct

Forms

direct m or n (feminine singular directă, masculine plural direcți, feminine/neuter plural directe)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French direct and Latin dīrēctus (“straight, without intermediary”): DEX and Marcu's MDN name both, MDA2 too.^[2][3][4] Marcu & Maneca's DN gives the Latin word with the French one for comparison, DELR and the DLR name the Latin first and the French second, and Ciorănescu, Tiktin and Scriban give the Latin alone.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10]} Wiktionary names both.^[1]

The Latin adjective is the past participle of dīrigō (“to set in a straight line, direct”), formed from dis- and regō (“to guide straight”).^[6][11] The French adjective was borrowed from the same Latin word in the 13th century.^[12] Inherited, the Latin word gave drept (“straight; right”), so the two Romanian words are doublets.^[1][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR and Tiktin date the first record to 1812, in a work of Șincai.^[6][9] Tiktin glosses it “immediate, direct, straight”.^[9] MDA2 dates it only from 1893, from a collection of charms published by Marian.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word covers a straight path without detour and, figuratively, what happens without an intermediary or is said openly, without hiding anything.^[6][2] The negative indirect came earlier: an adverb indirecte is recorded in Micu in 1799, the adjective from 1829.^[6]

Grammar adopted complement direct “direct object” and stil direct “direct speech”, and Scriban also records the mod direct, the indicative.^[10] A tren direct went to its destination without a change of carriage.^[13] Politics and finance have vot direct “direct vote” and impozit direct “direct tax”.^[2][4] In boxing the feminine noun directă is a straight punch.^[6][2]

Timeline

• 1799 – the adverb indirecte in Micu.^[6]
• 1812 – direct, the first record, in Șincai.^[6][9]
• 1848 – nedirect “indirect” in Negulici.^[6]
• 1873 – directamente “directly”, in Hasdeu.^[6]
• 1893 – the first record MDA2 gives.^[4]
• 1941 – directitate “directness”, in Călinescu.^[6]
• 1971 – directețe “directness”.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Going straight to the goal, without a detour: un drum direct “a direct road”;^[2][4] în linie directă “in direct line, from father to son”.^[2][4]
2. Done or taking place without an intermediary; open, frank: vot direct “direct vote”, impozit direct “direct tax”, complement direct “direct object”.^[2][4]

Noun

1. (feminine, directă, boxing) a straight punch thrown with the arm stretched forward.^[2][6]

Adverb

1. straight, without a detour: Vin direct de la gară. “I'm coming straight from the station.”^[2]
2. Without an intermediary, directly.^[2]

Word family

• directamente
• directețe
• indirect

Related words

• drept
• director

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1, 317
3. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. direct
4. ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 720
5. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. direct
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2011–), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române (DELR), vol. I: A–B (2011), vol. II: C (2015–2018), București: Editura Academiei Române; continued online at delr.lingv.ro, p. s.v. direct
7. ^ Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. direct
8. ^ Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. direct
9. ^ a b c d Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. direct
10. ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 429
11. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
13. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. direct