different between direct vs certain

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin d?rectus, perfect passive participle of d?rig? (“straighten, direct”), from dis- (“asunder, in pieces, apart, in two”) + reg? (“make straight, rule”). Compare dress.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d(a)????kt/, /d????kt/, /da??????kt/
• Rhymes: -?kt
• Hyphenation: di?rect

Adjective

direct (comparative more direct, superlative most direct)

1. Proceeding without deviation or interruption.
2. Straight; not crooked, oblique, or circuitous; leading by the short or shortest way to a point or end.

3. Straightforward; sincere.
4. Immediate; express; plain; unambiguous.

   • He nowhere, that I know, says it in direct words.

   • 1827, Henry Hallam, The Constitutional History of England

     a direct and avowed interference with elections

5. In the line of descent; not collateral.

6. (astronomy) 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.
7. (political science) Pertaining to, or effected immediately by, action of the people through their votes instead of through one or more representatives or delegates.

8. (aviation, travel) having a single flight number.

Synonyms

• (proceeding uninterrupted): immediate
• (express, plain, unambiguous): explicit, patent, univocal; see also Thesaurus:explicit

Antonyms

• indirect

Derived terms

Translations

Adverb

direct (comparative more direct, superlative most direct)

1. Directly.
   • 2009, Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall, Fourth Estate 2010, p. 346:

     Presumably Mary is to carry messages that she, Anne, is too delicate to convey direct.

Verb

direct (third-person singular simple present directs, present participle directing, simple past and past participle directed)

1. To manage, control, steer.

   to direct the affairs of a nation or the movements of an army

2. To aim (something) at (something else).

   They directed their fire towards the men on the wall.

   He directed his question to the room in general.

3. To point out or show to (somebody) the right course or way; to guide, as by pointing out the way.

   He directed me to the left-hand road.

   • 1882, John Lubbock, Flowers, Fruits and Leaves

     the next points to which I will direct your attention

4. To point out to with authority; to instruct as a superior; to order.

   She directed them to leave immediately.
5. (dated) To put a direction or address upon; to mark with the name and residence of the person to whom anything is sent.

   to direct a letter

Derived terms

• co-direct, codirect
• misdirect
• redirect

Related terms

Translations

Anagrams

• Credit, credit, triced

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French direct, from Latin d?r?ctus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /di?r?kt/
• Hyphenation: di?rect
• Rhymes: -?kt

Adjective

direct (comparative directer, superlative directst)

1. direct, immediate
2. direct, blunt, frank

Inflection

Adverb

direct

1. immediately

Synonyms

• onmiddellijk
• meteen
• rechtstreeks

Derived terms

• drek

Descendants

• Afrikaans: direk
• ? Papiamentu: dirèkt

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /di.??kt/
• Homophones: directe, directes, directs

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin d?rectus. Doublet of droit, which was inherited.

Adjective

direct (feminine singular directe, masculine plural directs, feminine plural directes)

1. direct

Etymology 2

From directement.

Adverb

direct

1. (colloquial) directly

   Si t'as pas envie d'y aller, dis-le direct.

   • 'If you don't want to go, say it straight up.'

Derived terms

Related terms

• diriger
• directeur
• direction

See also

• droit

Anagrams

• crédit
• décrit
• dicter

Further reading

• “direct” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Norman

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin d?rectus, perfect passive participle of d?rig?, d?rigere (“straighten, direct”). Compare the inherited drait, drouait.

Adjective

direct m

1. (Jersey) direct

Derived terms

• directément (“directly”)

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French direct, Latin directus. Compare the inherited doublet drept.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /di?rekt/

Adjective

direct m or n (feminine singular direct?, masculine plural direc?i, feminine and neuter plural directe)

1. direct
2. head-on

Declension

Adverb

direct

1. directly
2. straight

English

Alternative forms

• certaine (obsolete)
• certeine (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English certeyn, certein, certain, borrowed from Old French certain, from a Vulgar Latin unattested form *cert?nus, extended form of Latin certus (“fixed, resolved, certain”), of the same origin as cretus, past participle of cernere (“to separate, perceive, decide”). Displaced native Middle English wis, iwis (“certain, sure”) (from Old English ?ewiss (“certain, sure”)) and alternative Middle English spelling sertane (“some, certain”)

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?s??tn?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?s?tn?/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /?s?t?n/, /?s?tn?/
• Rhymes: -??(?)t?n
• Hyphenation: cer?tain

Adjective

certain (comparative more certain, superlative most certain)

1. Sure, positive, not doubting.

   I was certain of my decision.

   Spain is now certain of a place in the finals.

2. (obsolete) Determined; resolved.
3. Not to be doubted or denied; established as a fact.
4. Actually existing; sure to happen; inevitable.

   Bankruptcy is the certain outcome of your constant gambling and lending.
5. Unfailing; infallible.
   • 1702, Richard Mead, Mechanical Account of Poisons
6. I have often wished , that I knew so certain a remedy in any other disease
7. Fixed or stated; regular; determinate.

   • The people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day.

8. Known but not specifically named; indeterminate; indefinite; one or some; sometimes used independently as a noun, and meaning certain persons; see also "one".

   • It came to pass when he was in a certain city.

Synonyms

• (not doubting): See also Thesaurus:certain
• (sure to happen): unavoidable; See also Thesaurus:inevitable

Antonyms

• (not doubting): uncertain
• (sure to happen): impossible, incidental
• (known but not named): particular specific

Derived terms

• certainly (adv)

Related terms

• certainty (n)

Translations

Determiner

certain

1. Having been determined but not specified. The quality of some particular subject or object which is known by the speaker to have been specifically singled out among similar entities of its class.

Translations

Pronoun

certain

1. (with of) Unnamed or undescribed members (of).

   She mentioned a series of contracts, of which certain are not cited

   • 1611, Bible (King James Version), Acts xxiii. 12

     Certain of the Jews banded together.

Synonyms

• (unnamed or undescribed members (of)): some

Noun

certain pl (plural only)

1. (with "the") Something certain.

Further reading

• certain at OneLook Dictionary Search
• certain in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• certain in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Cretian, ant rice, anticer, cantier, ceratin, citrean, creatin, crinate, nacrite, tacrine, tercian

French

Etymology

From Old French certain, from Vulgar Latin unattested form *cert?nus, extended form of Latin certus (“fixed, resolved, certain”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /s??.t??/

Adjective

certain (feminine singular certaine, masculine plural certains, feminine plural certaines)

1. certain (sure, positive)

   Il est certain qu'il viendra.

   It is certain that he will arrive.

2. certain (fixed, determined)
3. certain (specified, particular)

Derived terms

Noun

certain m (plural certains)

1. certain; certainty

Determiner

certain

1. certain: a determined but unspecified amount of ; some

   Certaines personnes vont aller.

   Some people are going.

Related terms

• certainement
• certitude
• incertain

Further reading

• “certain” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• carient, centrai, cernait, crainte, criante, écriant, encirât, encrait

Old French

Alternative forms

• (Picard dialect) chertain

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *cert?nus, from Latin certus. Compare Old Italian and Old Spanish certano.

Adjective

certain m (oblique and nominative feminine singular certaine)

1. certain; sure

Declension

Synonyms

• seur

Related terms

• cert

Descendants

• ? Middle English: certeyn
  • English: certain
• French: certain