direction

English

Etymology

From Middle English direccioun, from Old French direccion, from Latin dīrēctiō. Equivalent to direct +‎ -ion.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /d(a)ɪˈɹɛk.ʃən/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛkʃən

Noun

direction (countable and uncountable, plural directions)

1. A theoretical line (physically or mentally) followed from a point of origin or towards a destination. May be relative (e.g. up, left, outbound, dorsal), geographical (e.g. north), rotational (e.g. clockwise), or with respect to an object or location (e.g. toward Boston).

   Keep going in the same direction.

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     Judge Short had gone to town, and Farrar was off for a three days' cruise up the lake. I was bitterly regretting I had not gone with him when the distant notes of a coach horn reached my ear, and I descried a four-in-hand winding its way up the inn road from the direction of Mohair.

   • 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, “chapter I”, in The House Behind the Cedars:

     Just before Warwick reached Liberty Point, a young woman came down Front Street from the direction of the market-house. When their paths converged, Warwick kept on down Front Street behind her, it having been already his intention to walk in this direction.

2. A general trend for future action.
3. Guidance, instruction.

   The trombonist looked to the bandleader for direction.

4. The work of the director in cinema or theater; the skill of directing a film, play etc.

   The screenplay was good, but the direction was weak.

5. (dated) The body of persons who guide or manage a matter; the directorate.
6. (archaic) A person's address.
   • 1796, Matthew Lewis, The Monk, Folio Society 1985, page 218:

     Her aunt Leonella was still at Cordova, and she knew not her direction.

Derived terms

• cardinal direction
• co-direction
• direction indicator
• direction sign
• directionality
• directive
• director
• intercardinal direction
• misdirection
• ordinal direction
• radio direction finder
• redirection
• self-direction
• sense of direction
• stage direction
• x-direction
• y-direction
• z-direction

 

Related terms

• direct

Translations

indication of the point toward which an object is moving

• Afrikaans: rigting (af)
• Albanian: drejtim (sq) m
• Arabic: اِتِّجَاه‎ m (ittijāh)
• Armenian: ուղղություն (hy) (ułłutʿyun)
• Azerbaijani: istiqamət (az), səmt (az), tərəf (az), yön (az)
• Bashkir: йүнәлеш (yünäleş), тараф (taraf), яҡ (yaq)
• Belarusian: напра́мак m (naprámak), кіру́нак m (kirúnak)
• Bulgarian: посо́ка (bg) f (posóka), направле́ние (bg) n (napravlénie)
• Burmese: အလား (my) (a.la:), ဘက် (my) (bhak)
• Catalan: direcció (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 方向 (fong¹ hoeng³)

  Mandarin: 方向 (zh) (fāngxiàng)

  Min Nan: 方向 (zh-min-nan) (hong-hiòng / hong-hiàng)

• Czech: směr (cs) m
• Danish: retning (da) c
• Dutch: richting (nl)
• Esperanto: direkto (eo)
• Estonian: suund (et)
• Faroese: ætt f
• Finnish: suunta (fi)
• French: direction (fr)
• Galician: dirección (gl) f
• Georgian: მიმართულება (mimartuleba)
• German: Richtung (de) f
• Greek: κατεύθυνση (el) f (katéfthynsi)
• Hebrew: כיוון \ כִּוּוּן‎ (he) m (kivún)
• Hindi: दिशा (hi) m (diśā), तरफ़ f (taraf), ओर (hi) f (or)
• Hungarian: irány (hu)
• Icelandic: átt (is) f, stefna f
• Indonesian: arah (id)
• Italian: direzione (it) f, senso di marcia m
• Japanese: 方向 (ja) (ほうこう, hōkō)
• Kazakh: бағыт (kk) (bağyt)
• Khmer: ទិស (km) (tɨh)
• Korean: 방향(方向) (ko) (banghyang)
• Kyrgyz: багыт (ky) (bagıt)
• Lao: ທິດທາງ (thit thāng)
• Latin: pars (la)
• Latvian: virziens m
• Lithuanian: kryptis (lt) f
• Lü: ᦠᦳᧃᦗᦻ (ḣunpaay)
• Macedonian: насока f (nasoka), правец m (pravec)
• Malay: arah (ms)
• Malayalam: ദിശ (ml) (diśa)
• Maori: raranga, ahunga
• Mazanderani: ور‎ (var)
• Middle English: please add this translation if you can
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: зүг (mn) (züg)

• Navajo: hodeezá
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: retning (no) m or f

  Nynorsk: retning f

• Pashto: استقامت‎ (ps) m (esteqāmat), سمت‎ (ps) m (samt), طرف‎ (ps) m (taraf)
• Persian: جهت‎ (fa) (jahat), سمت‎ (fa) (samt), طرف‎ (fa) (taraf)
• Polish: kierunek (pl) m
• Portuguese: direção (pt) f
• Romanian: direcție (ro) f
• Romansch: direcziun f, direcziùn f (Sutsilvan)
• Russian: направле́ние (ru) n (napravlénije)
• Sanskrit: दिशा (sa) (diśā)
• Scots: airt
• Scottish Gaelic: seòladh m, iùl m, àird f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: сме̑р m, смје̑р m

  Roman: smȇr (sh) m, smjȇr (sh) m

• Slovak: smer m
• Slovene: smer (sl) f
• Spanish: dirección (es) f
• Swahili: mwelekeo (sw)
• Swedish: riktning (sv) c, håll (sv) n
• Tajik: самт (samt), тараф (tg) (taraf), ҷиҳат (tg) (jihat)
• Tamil: திசை (ta) (ticai), திக்கு (ta) (tikku)
• Tatar: юнәлеш (tt) (yunäleş), тараф (tt) (taraf)
• Thai: ทิศทาง (th) (tít-taang)
• Tocharian B: kälymiye
• Turkish: yön (tr), istikamet (tr)
• Turkmen: tarap, ugur
• Tuvan: уг (ug), тала (tala)
• Ukrainian: на́прямок (uk) m (náprjamok), на́прям m (náprjam), керу́нок m (kerúnok)
• Urdu: طرف‎ f (taraf), سمت‎ (ur) (samt)
• Uyghur: يۆنىلىش‎ (yönilish)
• Uzbek: yo'nalish (uz), taraf (uz), tomon (uz)
• Vietnamese: phương hướng (vi) (方向), hướng (vi)
• Westrobothnian: sträätt f
• Yiddish: ריכטונג‎ f (rikhtung)

work of the director (manager)

• Armenian: ղեկավարում (hy) (łekavarum), ղեկավարություն (hy) (łekavarutʿyun), կառավարում (hy) (kaṙavarum), վարում (hy) (varum)
• Belarusian: кіраўні́цтва n (kiraŭníctva)
• Bulgarian: управле́ние (bg) n (upravlénie), ръково́дство (bg) n (rǎkovódstvo)
• Catalan: direcció (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 管理 (zh) (guǎnlǐ)

• Czech: řízení (cs) n
• Finnish: johtaminen (fi), ohjaaminen (fi)
• French: direction (fr) f
• Galician: dirección (gl) f
• German: Führung (de) f
• Hebrew: ניהול‎ m (nihul)
• Hungarian: irányítás (hu), vezetés (hu)
• Italian: direzione (it) f, regia (it) f
• Japanese: 指揮 (ja) (しき, shiki)
• Korean: 지휘(指揮) (ko) (jihwi)
• Latvian: vadīšana f, vadība f
• Lithuanian: vadovavimas (lt) m
• Macedonian: раководство n (rakovodstvo), раководење n (rakovodenje), управување n (upravuvanje)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ledelse m

• Polish: kierowanie (pl) n
• Portuguese: direção (pt) f
• Romanian: conducere (ro) f
• Russian: управле́ние (ru) n (upravlénije), руково́дство (ru) n (rukovódstvo)
• Slovak: riadenie n
• Spanish: dirección (es) f
• Swedish: ledning (sv) c
• Ukrainian: керівни́цтво (uk) n (kerivnýctvo)

work of the director in cinema or theater

• Arabic: إِخْرَاج‎ m (ʔiḵrāj)
• Belarusian: рэжысу́ра f (režysúra)
• Bulgarian: режису́ра (bg) f (režisúra)
• Catalan: direcció (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 導演／导演 (zh) (dǎoyǎn)

• Czech: režie (cs) f
• Finnish: ohjaaminen (fi)
• German: Regie (de) f
• Hebrew: בימוי‎ m (bimui)
• Hungarian: rendezés (hu)
• Italian: regia (it) f, conduzione (it) f
• Japanese: 監督 (ja) (かんとく, kantoku)
• Korean: 감독(監督) (ko) (gamdok)
• Macedonian: режија f (režija)
• Malayalam: സംവിധാനം (ml) (saṃvidhānaṃ)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: produksjon (no) m

• Persian: کارگردانی‎ (fa) (kârgardâni), رژی‎ (reži)
• Polish: reżyseria (pl) f
• Portuguese: direção (pt) f
• Romanian: regie (ro) f
• Russian: режиссу́ра (ru) f (režissúra)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ре̑жија f

  Roman: rȇžija (sh) f

• Slovak: réžia f
• Slovene: režija f
• Swedish: regi (sv) c
• Telugu: దర్శకత్వం (darśakatvaṁ)
• Ukrainian: режису́ра f (režysúra)

path or course of movement

• Finnish: suunta (fi), kurssi (fi)
• Irish: slí f
• Italian: senso di marcia m, direzione di marcia f
• Maori: raranga
• Russian: направле́ние (ru) n (napravlénije)

guidance, instruction

• Bulgarian: указание (bg) n (ukazanie)
• Finnish: ohjaus (fi)
• Hungarian: útmutatás (hu), iránymutatás, eligazítás (hu), utasítás (hu)
• Irish: díriú m
• Italian: guida (it) f, direzione (it) f, senso di marcia m
• Maori: whakahau
• Slovak: usmernenie n

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ^{(please verify)} ئاراستە‎ (ku) (araste)

• Scottish Gaelic: ^{(please verify)} iùl m, ^{(please verify)} cùrsa m, ^{(please verify)} rathad m
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} dirección (es)

Further reading

• “"…direction…"”, by Mark Liberman, published by Language Log (2022-08-12)

Anagrams

• cretinoid

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dīrēctiō, dīrēctiōnem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /di.ʁɛk.sjɔ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

direction f (plural directions)

1. (spatial) direction

   être / aller dans la bonne direction ― to be going the right way, to be heading the right way

2. (figuratively) direction
3. government
4. (figuratively) the director of the administration/organisation
5. (occasional, figurative) the territory administered by a government

Derived terms

• direction assistée

Related terms

• directeur
• diriger

Descendants

• → Turkish: direksiyon

Further reading

• “direction”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Interlingua

Noun

direction (plural directiones)

1. direction (orientation, point where one is headed)
2. direction, leadership, control, supervision