Emily Dickinson Lexicon

DI-RECT', a. [L. directus, from dirigo; di and rego, rectus, to make straight. See Right.]

1. Straight; right; as, to pass in a direct line from one body or place to another. It is opposed to crooked, winding, oblique. It is also opposed to refracted; as, a direct ray of light.
2. In astronomy, appearing to move forward in the zodiac, in the direction of the signs; opposed to retrograde; as, the motion of a planet is direct.
3. In the line of father and son; opposed to collateral; as, a descendant in the direct line.
4. Leading or tending to an end, as by a straight line or course; not circuitous. Thus we speak of direct means to effect an object; a direct course; a direct way.
5. Open; not ambiguous or doubtful. – Bacon.
6. Plain; express; not ambiguous; as, he said this in direct words; he made a direct acknowledgment.
7. In music, a direct interval is that which forms any kind of harmony on the fundamental sound which produces it; as the fifth, major third, and octave. – Rousseau. Direct tax, is a tax assessed on real estate, as houses and lands.