direct (direkt)

[ It. dirigere = Sp. Pg. Pr. dirigir = F. diriger = D. dirigeren = G. dir i giren = Dan. dirigere = Sw. dirigera ), straighten, direct: see direct, a., and cf. dre , v. Cf. also dirge, dirigible.] I. trans. 1. To point or aim in a straight line toward a place or an object; cause to move, act, or work toward a certain object or end; determine in respect to direction: as, to direct an arrow or a piece of ordnance; to direct the eye; to direct a course or flight. The master of the ship is judged by the directing his course aright. Bacon , Advancement of Learning, ii. 189. But though the rank which you hold in the royal family might direct the eyes of a poet to you, yet your beauty and goodne detain and fix them. Dryden, Ded. of Indian Emperor. I have sometimes reflected for what reason the Turks should appoint such Marks to direct their faces toward in Prayer. Maundrell , Aleppo to Jerusalem, p. 14. 2. To point out or make known a course to; impart information or advice to for guidance: as, to direct a person to his destination; he directed his friend's attention to an improved method. Direct me, if it be your will, Where great Aufidius lies. Shak ., Cor., iv. 4. 3. To control the course of; regulate; guide or lead; govern; cause to proceed in a particular manner: as, to direct the steps of a child, or the affairs of a nation. Let discretion Direct your anger. Fletcher, Double Marriage, v. & They taught how to direct the voice unto harmony. Sandys , Travailes, p. 175. And, pleased the Almighty's orders to perform, Rides in the whirlwind, and directs the storm. Add is on, The Campaign, 1. 292. 4. To order; instruct; point out to, as a course of proceeding, with authority; prescribe to. I'll first direct my men what they shall do. Shak., M. W. of W., iv. 2 The Prophet directed his followers to order their children to say their prayers when seven years of age. E. W. Lane, Modern Egyptians, L. 67. IMG:content-2720.png:[blocks in formation] O moral Gower, this boke I direct To the. Chaucer, Troilus, i. 8. In astrol., to calculate the arc of the equator between the significator and the promotor. - Directed right line, a line which is regarded as dif. ferentiated in respect to the distinction between the two directions in which it might be pa ed over by a moving point. = Syn. 3. Guide, Sway (see guide ); Conduct, etc. (see manage and govern ); to dispose, rule, command (see en join ), control. II. in trans. 1. To act as a guide; point out a course; exercise power or authority in guiding. Wisdom is profitable to direct. He controls and directs absolutely. Eccl. x. 10. N. A. Rev. , CXLII. 592. 2. In music , to act as director or conductor. direct (di-rekt'), n. [ direct , v.] In musical notation , the sign placed at the end of a staff or of a page to indicate to the performer the position of the first note of the next staff or page. direct (di-rekt'), adv. [ And faire Venus, the beaute of the night, Upraise, and set vnto the west ful right Her golden face in oppositionn Of God Phebus directe disc ending down. Henrys on, Testament of Cre ida, 1. 14. direct-action (di-rekt'ak"shon), a. In mech., characterized by direct action: a term applied to engines which have the piston-rod or cro head connected directly to, or by a connecting rod with, the crank, dispensing with working beams and side levers: as, a direct - action steam engine. A rectilinear motion of the piston is insured by a cro -head at the end of the piston-rod, which slides in parallel guides, or, in the case of the oscillating engine, the cylinder vibrates in accordance with the movement of the crank. Special types of direct-action engines are the annular double-cylinder, double-piston, inclined-cylinder, inverted-cylinder, oscillating, sliding-cover, steeple-, and trunk-engines. Also applied to steam-pumps which have the steam-piston connected by the piston-rod directly to the pump-piston or plunger, and which have valve-gear that prevents stopping on what is called the dead - center . Such pumps work without cranks or fly-wheels. direct-draft (di-rekt draft), a. Having a single direct flue: applied to steam-boilers. directer (di-rek'ter), n. See director. = directing (di-rek'ting), p. a. [Ppr. of direct, v.] Giving or affording direction; guiding.-Directing circle. See gabion. - Directing plane, in perspective, a plane pa ing through the point of sight parallel to the plane of the picture. - Directing point, in perspective, the point where any original line meets the directing plane. direction (di-rek's hon), n. [= F. direction = Sp. direccion = Pg. direcção It. direzione = D. directie = G. direction = Dan. Sw. direktion, would define its direction at the instant when it ceased to be deflected. It is inaccurate to say that a line has a determinate direction, because a motion along that line has either one two opposite directions. Yet the word direction is sometimes used in a loose sense in which, op posite directions not being distinguished, the direction of a line is spoken of, meaning the pair of opposite directions. The direction of a star is seen at a glance, while the most profound science and the most accurate observations have not enabled the astronomer to ascertain its distance. B. Peirce. The direction in which a force tends to make the point to which it is applied move is called the direction of the force. R. S. Ball , Exper. Mechanics, p. 5. Hence-2. The act of governing; administration; management; guidance; superintendence: as, the direction of public affairs, of domestic concerns, of a bank, of conscience; to study under the direction of a tutor. I put myself to thy direction . Shak., Macbeth, iv. 3. IMG:content-2721.png:[blocks in formation] IMG:content-2722.png:[blocks in formation] [In this sense directly, when it happens to precede a dependent temporal clause, often a umes, by the improper omi ion of the temporal conjunction when or as, the apparent office of a conjunction, "when," "as soon as." It is more common in English than in American use. Directly he stopped, the coffin was removed by four men. Dickens.] 4. Clearly; unmistakably; expre ly; without circumlocution or ambiguity. That wise Solon was directly a Poet, it is manifest, hauing written in verse the notable fable of the Atlantick Sir P. Sidney, Apol. for Poetrie. 6. In equity pleading, that part of the bill containing the addre to the court.-7. In music, the act or office of a conductor or director.-8. A superscription, as on a letter or package, Iland. directing to whom and where it is to be sent; an addre . These letters [Lord Chesterfield's] retain their directions and wax seals, and bear the postmarks of the period. N. and Q., 7th ser., II. 425. 9. A body or board of directors; a directorate. -10. In astrol., the difference of right or oblique ascension between the significator and promotor.-Angle of direction, See angles. - Direction cosine, the cosine of the angle which a given direction makes with that of one of a system of rectangular coördinates in space. -Direction of the dip. See dip. -Direction ratio, the ratio of one of the three oblique coördinates of a point to the distance of the point from the origin.-Line of direction. (a) In gun., the direct line in which a piece is pointed. (b) In mech.: (1) The line in which a body moves or tends to proceed, according to the force impre ed upon it. Thus, if a body falls freely by gravity, its line of direction is a line perpendicular to the horizon, or one which, if produced, would pa through the earth's center. (2) A line drawn from the center of gravity of any body perpendicular to the horizon. =Syn. 2. Oversight, government, control. directional (di-rek's hon-al), a. [ The directional character of the properties of the ray, on account of its analogy to the directional character of a magnet or an electric current, suggested the idea of polarity. Spottiswoode, Polarisation, p. 5. We found our Sea cards most directly false. Quoted in Capt . John Smith's True Travels, I. 109. I never directly defame, but I do what is as bad in the consequence. Steele, Spectator, No. 136. Directly proportional, in math . See proportional. =Syn. 3. Promptly, instantly, quickly.-4. Absolutely, unambiguously.