Direct

8 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Tax \Tax\, n. [F. taxe, fr. taxer to tax, L. taxare to touch,
     sharply, to feel, handle, to censure, value, estimate, fr.
     tangere, tactum, to touch. See {Tangent}, and cf. {Task},
     {Taste}.]
     1. A charge, especially a pecuniary burden which is imposed
        by authority. Specifically: 


        [1913 Webster]
        (a) A charge or burden laid upon persons or property for
            the support of a government.
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                  A farmer of taxes is, of all creditors,
                  proverbially the most rapacious.  --Macaulay.
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        (b) Especially, the sum laid upon specific things, as upon
            polls, lands, houses, income, etc.; as, a land tax; a
            window tax; a tax on carriages, and the like.
  
     Note: Taxes are {annual} or {perpetual}, {direct} or
           {indirect}, etc.
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        (c) A sum imposed or levied upon the members of a society
            to defray its expenses.
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     2. A task exacted from one who is under control; a
        contribution or service, the rendering of which is imposed
        upon a subject.
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     3. A disagreeable or burdensome duty or charge; as, a heavy
        tax on time or health.
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     4. Charge; censure. [Obs.] --Clarendon.
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     5. A lesson to be learned; a task. [Obs.] --Johnson.
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     {Tax cart}, a spring cart subject to a low tax. [Eng.]
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     Syn: Impost; tribute; contribution; duty; toll; rate;
          assessment; exaction; custom; demand.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Direct \Di*rect"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Directed}; p. pr. & vb.
     n. {Directing}.]
     1. To arrange in a direct or straight line, as against a
        mark, or towards a goal; to point; to aim; as, to direct
        an arrow or a piece of ordnance.
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     2. To point out or show to (any one), as the direct or right
        course or way; to guide, as by pointing out the way; as,
        he directed me to the left-hand road.
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              The Lord direct your into the love of God. --2
                                                    Thess. iii. 5.
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              The next points to which I will direct your
              attention.                            --Lubbock.
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     3. To determine the direction or course of; to cause to go on
        in a particular manner; to order in the way to a certain
        end; to regulate; to govern; as, to direct the affairs of
        a nation or the movements of an army.
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              I will direct their work in truth.    --Is. lxi. 8.
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     4. To point out to with authority; to instruct as a superior;
        to order; as, he directed them to go.
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              I 'll first direct my men what they shall do.
                                                    --Shak.
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     5. To put a direction or address upon; to mark with the name
        and residence of the person to whom anything is sent; to
        superscribe; as, to direct a letter.
  
     Syn: To guide; lead; conduct; dispose; manage; regulate;
          order; instruct; command.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Direct \Di*rect"\, a. [L. directus, p. p. of dirigere to direct:
     cf. F. direct. See {Dress}, and cf. {Dirge}.]
     1. Straight; not crooked, oblique, or circuitous; leading by
        the short or shortest way to a point or end; as, a direct
        line; direct means.
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              What is direct to, what slides by, the question.
                                                    --Locke.
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     2. Straightforward; not of crooked ways, or swerving from
        truth and openness; sincere; outspoken.
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              Be even and direct with me.           --Shak.
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     3. Immediate; express; plain; unambiguous.
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              He nowhere, that I know, says it in direct words.
                                                    --Locke.
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              A direct and avowed interference with elections.
                                                    --Hallam.
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     4. In the line of descent; not collateral; as, a descendant
        in the direct line.
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     5. (Astron.) In the direction of the general planetary
        motion, or from west to east; in the order of the signs;
        not {retrograde}; -- said of the motion of a celestial
        body.
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     6. (Political Science) Pertaining to, or effected immediately
        by, action of the people through their votes instead of
        through one or more representatives or delegates; as,
        direct nomination, direct legislation.
        [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
  
     {Direct action}.
        (a) (Mach.) See {Direct-acting}.
        (b) (Trade unions) See {Syndicalism}, below. [Webster 1913
            Suppl.]
  
     {Direct discourse} (Gram.), the language of any one quoted
        without change in its form; as, he said "I can not come;"
        -- correlative to {indirect discourse}, in which there is
        change of form; as, he said that he could not come. They
        are often called respectively by their Latin names,
        {oratio directa}, and {oratio obliqua}.
  
     {Direct evidence} (Law), evidence which is positive or not
        inferential; -- opposed to {circumstantial evidence}, or
        {indirect evidence}. -- This distinction, however, is
        merely formal, since there is no direct evidence that is
        not circumstantial, or dependent on circumstances for its
        credibility. --Wharton.
  
     {Direct examination} (Law), the first examination of a
        witness in the orderly course, upon the merits. --Abbott.
  
     {Direct fire} (Mil.), fire, the direction of which is
        perpendicular to the line of troops or to the parapet
        aimed at.
  
     {Direct process} (Metal.), one which yields metal in working
        condition by a single process from the ore. --Knight.
  
     {Direct tax}, a tax assessed directly on lands, etc., and
        polls, distinguished from taxes on merchandise, or
        customs, and from excise.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Direct \Di*rect"\, v. i.
     To give direction; to point out a course; to act as guide.
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           Wisdom is profitable to direct.          --Eccl. x. 10.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Direct \Di*rect"\, n. (Mus.)
     A character, thus [?], placed at the end of a staff on the
     line or space of the first note of the next staff, to apprise
     the performer of its situation. --Moore (Encyc. of Music).
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  direct
       adj 1: direct in spatial dimensions; proceeding without deviation
              or interruption; straight and short; "a direct route";
              "a direct flight"; "a direct hit" [ant: {indirect}]
       2: immediate or direct in bearing or force; having nothing
          intervening; "in direct sunlight"; "in direct contact with
          the voters"; "direct exposure to the disease"; "a direct
          link"; "the direct cause of the accident"
       3: extended senses; direct in means or manner or behavior or
          language or action; "a direct question"; "a direct
          response"; "a direct approach" [ant: {indirect}]
       4: in a straight unbroken line of descent from parent to child;
          "lineal ancestors"; "lineal heirs"; "a direct descendant
          of the king"; "direct heredity" [syn: {lineal}] [ant: {collateral}]
       5: moving from west to east on the celestial sphere; or--for
          planets--around the sun in the same direction as the Earth
          [ant: {retrograde}]
       6: similar in nature or effect or relation to  another
          quantity; "a term is in direct proportion to another term
          if it increases (or decreases) as the other increases (or
          decreases)" [ant: {inverse}]
       7: of a current flowing in one direction only; not alternating;
          "direct current" [ant: {alternating}]
       8: as an immediate result or consequence; "a direct result of
          the accident"
       9: in precisely the same words used by a writer or speaker; "a
          direct quotation"; "repeated their dialog verbatim" [syn:
          {verbatim}]
       10: effected directly by action of the voters rather than
           through elected representatives; "many people favor
           direct election of the President rather than election by
           the Electoral College"
       11: exact; "the direct opposite"
       adv : without deviation; "the path leads directly to the lake";
             "went direct to the office" [syn: {directly}, {straight}]
       v 1: command with authority; "He directed the children to do
            their homework"
       2: intend (something) to move towards a certain goal; "He aimed
          his fists towards his opponent's face"; "criticism
          directed at her superior"; "direct your anger towards
          others, not towards yourself" [syn: {target}, {aim}, {place},
           {point}]
       3: guide the actors in (plays and films)
       4: be in charge of
       5: take somebody somewhere; "We lead him to our chief"; "can
          you take me to the main entrance?"; "He conducted us to
          the palace" [syn: {lead}, {take}, {conduct}, {guide}]
       6: cause to go somewhere; "The explosion sent the car flying in
          the air"; "She sent her children to camp"; "He directed
          all his energies into his dissertation" [syn: {send}]
       7: aim or direct at; as of blows, weapons, or objects such as
          photographic equipment; "Please don't aim at your little
          brother!"; "He trained his gun on the burglar"; "Don't
          train your camera on the women"; "Take a swipe at one's
          opponent" [syn: {aim}, {take}, {train}, {take aim}]
       8: lead, as in the performance of a composition; "conduct an
          orchestra; Bairenboim conducted the Chicago symphony for
          years" [syn: {conduct}, {lead}]
       9: give directions to; point somebody into a certain direction;
          "I directed them towards the town hall"
       10: specifically design a product, event, or activity for a
           certain public [syn: {calculate}, {aim}]
       11: direct the course; determine the direction of travelling
           [syn: {steer}, {maneuver}, {manoeuver}, {manoeuvre}, {point},
            {head}, {guide}, {channelize}, {channelise}]
       12: put an address on (an envelope, for example) [syn: {address}]
       13: plan and direct (a complex undertaking); "he masterminded
           the robbery" [syn: {mastermind}, {engineer}, {organize},
           {organise}, {orchestrate}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  476 Moby Thesaurus words for "direct":
     Attic, Ciceronian, Spartan, address, address to, administer,
     administrate, advise, advocate, aim, aim at, allude to, apply,
     appoint, arrowlike, articulated, artless, ascetic, assign, austere,
     bald, bare, be master, be responsible for, beam, bend, bid, bluff,
     blunt, born yesterday, brief, bring to attention, bring to notice,
     broad, broaden the mind, brusque, buckle down, call attention to,
     call on, call the shots, call the signals, call upon, candid,
     captain, carry on, carry out, carry through, cast, catechize,
     categorical, catenated, ceaseless, chair, charge, chart a course,
     chaste, childlike, cite, civilize, classic, clean-cut, clear,
     clear as crystal, clear as day, clear-cut, close, coach, coherent,
     command, commission, common, commonplace, concatenated, cond,
     conduct, conduct to, confer, confiding, conn, connected,
     consistent, constant, consult with, contiguous, continual,
     continued, continuing, continuous, control, counsel, coxswain,
     crisp, crystal-clear, crystalline, cyclical, dead, dead ahead,
     dead straight, deal with, decide, declare, decree, define, defined,
     definite, delicate, demonstrate, determine, devote, dictate,
     diphyletic, direct attention to, direct to, directionize, directly,
     discipline, dispose, distinct, divert, dominate, downright, drive,
     dry, due, due north, dull, easy, edify, educate, elegant, endless,
     engineer, enjoin, enlighten, escort, even, exact, explicit,
     express, faithful, family, fasten, featureless, fine, finished,
     firsthand, fix, fix on, flat, focus, focus on, forthright, frank,
     frankhearted, free, free-speaking, free-spoken, free-tongued,
     gapless, genealogical, genuine, give, give an order,
     give instruction, give lessons in, give the word, govern, graceful,
     gracile, ground, guide, guileless, handle, have the conn, head,
     head up, heart-to-heart, helm, hold on, homely, homespun, honest,
     horizontal, illumine, immediate, in a beeline, in a line,
     in line with, inartificial, incessant, incline, inerrable,
     inerrant, infallible, inform, ingenu, ingenuous, innocent,
     instruct, interminable, irreversible, issue a command,
     issue a writ, joined, jointless, keep, kibitz, lay, lead, lead on,
     lead to, lean, level, level at, limpid, lineal, linear, linked,
     literally, literatim, loud and clear, lucid, luminous, mail,
     make go, make the rules, manage, mandate, maneuver, manipulate,
     mastermind, mathematical, matter-of-fact, meddle, mention,
     microscopic, monotonous, naive, native, natural, navigate, neat,
     never-ending, next, nice, nonstop, officer, one-way, open,
     open the eyes, openhearted, operate, ordain, order, order about,
     outright, outspoken, pellucid, perennial, perform on, periodic,
     perspicuous, phyletic, phylogenetic, pick out, pilot, pinpoint,
     plain, plain-speaking, plain-spoken, play, point, point at,
     point out, point out to, point the way, point to, point-blank,
     polished, post, practice, precise, prescribe, present,
     preside over, primary, proclaim, promulgate, pronounce, propose,
     prosaic, prosing, prosy, proximate, pull the strings, pure,
     put right, quarterback, recommend, rectilineal, rectilinear,
     recurrent, reeducate, refer to, refined, regulate, religious,
     religiously exact, repetitive, require, restrained, right, rigid,
     rigorous, round, round-the-clock, route, rule, ruler-straight, run,
     running, rustic, say the word, school, scientific,
     scientifically exact, seamless, see, see to, send, serried, set,
     set right, set straight, settle, severe, shape a course,
     sharpen the wits, shepherd, shortest, show, show how, show the way,
     sight on, simple, simple-speaking, simplehearted, simpleminded,
     sincere, single-hearted, single-minded, skipper, smooth, sober,
     spare, specify, square, stable, stand over, stark, steady, steer,
     straight, straight across, straight ahead, straight-cut,
     straight-front, straight-out, straight-side, straightaway,
     straightforward, straightforwards, straightly, straightway,
     streamlined, strict, submit, subtle, suggest, superintend,
     superscribe, supervise, tactless, take care of, take command,
     take the lead, tasteful, teach, teach a lesson,
     teach the rudiments, tell, terse, through, throw, to the point,
     touch on, train, train upon, translucent, transparent,
     transpicuous, trim, true, trustful, trusting, turn, turn upon,
     twenty-four-hour, unadorned, unaffected, unambiguous, unartificial,
     unassuming, unbending, unbent, unbowed, unbroken, unceasing,
     unchecked, unconcealed, unconfused, unconstrained, uncurved,
     undeflected, undeviating, undeviatingly, undifferentiated,
     undiplomatic, undisguised, undissembled, undistorted, unending,
     unequivocal, unerring, unfeigning, unguarded, unidirectional,
     uniform, unimaginative, uninhibited, unintermitted, unintermittent,
     unintermitting, uninterrupted, univocal, unlabored, unmistakable,
     unmitigated, unobstructed, unpoetical, unpretending, unpretentious,
     unqualified, unrelieved, unremitting, unreserved, unrestrained,
     unsophisticated, unstopped, unsuspicious, unswerving, unswervingly,
     unturned, unvarnished, unveeringly, unwary, upright, usher,
     vertical, warn, wear the pants, well-defined, wield authority,
     wield the baton, word for word, work
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  DIRECT. Straight forward; not collateral. 
       2. The direct line of descents for example, is formed by a series of 
  degrees  between persons who descend one from another. Civ. Code of Lo. art. 
  886.