Indirect

How to spell indirect

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce indirect

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does indirect mean?

1. adjectiveNot following the most direct line or method; roundabout, or achieved through intermediate steps rather than straight away.

Indirect in a sentence

• The train took an indirect route through three smaller towns.

• Higher fuel prices have an indirect effect on the cost of groceries.

Where does indirect come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built from the negative prefix in-, meaning 'not', attached to direct, which comes from the Latin directus, the past participle of dirigere, 'to set straight' or 'to guide'. That verb combined dis- (apart) with regere (to lead or rule), the same root that gives us 'regent' and 'correct'. Latin had already formed indirectus to mean 'not straight', and English adopted the word in the late 1300s through learned and legal use, borrowing both the spelling and the sense. The literal idea of a path that is not straight broadened to cover anything roundabout, evasive, or achieved by intermediate steps. The spelling stays transparent once you see it as in- bolted onto the familiar word direct, with no doubling and no hidden letters.

How the word is built

• in- (not)
• direct (from Latin directus: straightened, set straight)