directive
/dəˈektɪv/dur-EK-tiv
UK form converted from the US by rule · unchecked/dɚˈɛktɪv/dur-EK-tiv
Meaningtending to direct
Common meaning: an official instruction
Tap a word part to explore
- diapart
- rectstraight; rightLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1536 · scan
- iveadjective ending: tending to
‘apart’ + ‘straight’ → directive
Journey through time
- Latinrēctus‘straight’
- Middle Englishdirectesource
- Englishdirect‘straight’
- Englishformed in English from directdirective‘an official instruction’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from direct + -ive.
Dictionary: Skeat (1898), DIRECT, p.168 · scan
Roots
- rēctus Latin “straight; right”
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