different between direction vs wifferdill

English

Etymology

From Middle English direccioun, from Old French direccion, from Latin d?r?cti?. Equivalent to direct +? -ion

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /d(a)????k.??n/
• Rhymes: -?k??n

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).
   • 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, The House Behind the Cedars, Chapter I,

     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.

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

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

Related terms

• direct

Translations

Anagrams

• cretinoid

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin d?r?cti?, d?r?cti?nem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /di.??k.sj??/

Noun

direction f (plural directions)

1. (spatial) direction
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 (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Interlingua

Noun

direction (plural directiones)

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

English

Alternative forms

• whifferdill

Noun

wifferdill (plural wifferdills)

1. (aviation) An aerobatic manoeuvre in which an aircraft makes a series of very tight turns in order to reverse its direction of travel.
   • 2003, Dik Alan Daso, Doolittle: Aerospace Visionary, ?ISBN, p. 20.

     Doolittle executed a grand wifferdill—rapidly climbing to exchange airspeed for altitude—after completing the course, then a perfect landing.