From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
direction
n 1: a line leading to a place or point; "he looked the other
direction"; "didn't know the way home" [syn: way]
2: the spatial relation between something and the course along
which it points or moves; "he checked the direction and
velocity of the wind"
3: a general course along which something has a tendency to
develop; "I couldn't follow the direction of his
thoughts"; "his ideals determined the direction of his
career"; "they proposed a new direction for the firm"
4: something that provides direction or advice as to a decision
or course of action [syn: guidance, counsel,
counseling, counselling]
5: the act of managing something; "he was given overall
management of the program"; "is the direction of the
economy a function of government?" [syn: management]
6: a message describing how something is to be done; "he gave
directions faster than she could follow them" [syn:
instruction]
7: the act of setting and holding a course; "a new council was
installed under the direction of the king" [syn:
steering, guidance]
8: a formal statement of a command or injunction to do
something; "the judge's charge to the jury" [syn:
commission, charge]
9: the concentration of attention or energy on something; "the
focus of activity shifted to molecular biology"; "he had
no direction in his life" [syn: focus, focusing,
focussing, centering]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Direction \Di*rec"tion\, n. [L. directio: cf. F. direction.]
1. The act of directing, of aiming, regulating, guiding, or
ordering; guidance; management; superintendence;
administration; as, the direction o? public affairs or of
a bank.
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I do commit his youth
To your direction. --Shak.
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All nature is but art, unknown to thee;
ll chance, direction, which thou canst not see.
--Pope.
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2. That which is imposed by directing; a guiding or
authoritative instruction; prescription; order; command;
as, he grave directions to the servants.
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The princes digged the well . . . by the direction
of the law giver. --Numb. xxi.
18.
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3. The name and residence of a person to whom any thing is
sent, written upon the thing sent; superscription;
address; as, the direction of a letter.
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4. The line or course upon which anything is moving or aimed
to move, or in which anything is lying or pointing; aim;
line or point of tendency; direct line or course; as, the
ship sailed in a southeasterly direction.
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5. The body of managers of a corporation or enterprise; board
of directors.
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6. (Gun.) The pointing of a piece with reference to an
imaginary vertical axis; -- distinguished from elevation.
The direction is given when the plane of sight passes
through the object. --Wilhelm.
Syn: Administration; guidance; management; superintendence;
oversight; government; order; command; guide; clew.
Usage: Direction, Control, Command, Order. These
words, as here compared, have reference to the
exercise of power over the actions of others. Control
is negative, denoting power to restrain; command is
positive, implying a right to enforce obedience;
directions are commands containing instructions how to
act. Order conveys more prominently the idea of
authority than the word direction. A shipmaster has
the command of his vessel; he gives orders or
directions to the seamen as to the mode of sailing it;
and exercises a due control over the passengers.
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