Direction

How to spell direction

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce direction

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does direction mean?

1. nounThe line or course along which something moves, points, or develops.
2. nounGuidance, supervision, or an instruction telling someone what to do.

Direction in a sentence

• The satnav lost signal, so we drove in the wrong direction for an hour.

• The film won an award for its skilful direction and editing.

• A sudden change of direction in company strategy unsettled the staff.

• Under the careful direction of the new manager, the team finished early.

Where does direction come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word arrives from the Latin directio, meaning a 'straightening' or 'aligning', which was formed from the verb dirigere, 'to set straight, to guide, to aim'. That verb combines the prefix di- or dis-, suggesting movement apart or in a particular line, with regere, meaning 'to guide, rule, or keep straight'. English took the word through Old French direction in the late 1300s, where it first carried the sense of management or guidance before broadening to mean the line or course along which something moves. The same regere root keeps surfacing in a family of related words such as 'rectangle', 'correct', and 'regiment', all of which share the idea of straightness or rule. Knowing that 'rect' core helps with the spelling, since the tricky part is simply remembering the unstressed first vowel is an 'i', giving di-rect, not 'de-rect'.

How the word is built

• di- (apart, away)
• rect (from regere: to guide, to keep straight)
• -ion (noun of action or state)