quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- direct[direct 词源字典]
- direct: [14] English acquired direct from dīrectus, the past participle of Latin dīrigere ‘arrange in distinct lines’, hence ‘straighten, guide’. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix dis- ‘apart’ and regere ‘guide, rule’ (source of English regent, region, etc). The first recorded use of the verb in English was ‘write something and send it to a particular person’, a sense now preserved more specifically in the related address. (Also ultimately from Latin dīrigere is dirigible ‘steerable airship’ [19], a borrowing from French dirigeable; this was a derivative of diriger, the French descendant of dīrigere.)
=> address, dirigible, dress, regent, region[direct etymology, direct origin, 英语词源] - direct (v.)
- late 14c., "to write (to someone), to address," from Latin directus "straight," past participle of dirigere "set straight," from dis- "apart" (see dis-) + regere "to guide" (see regal). Compare dress; address.
Meaning "to govern, regulate" is from c. 1500; "to order, ordain" is from 1650s. Sense of "to write the destination on the outside of a letter" is from 16c. Of plays, films, etc., from 1913. Related: Directed; directing. - direct (adj.)
- late 14c., from Latin directus "straight," past participle of dirigere "set straight" (see direct (v.)).