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DictionaryRoot: dis-
Latin

dis-

apart, away; reversal or negation

Forms

  • dis-
  • di- — Shortened in certain Latin compounds.
  • dif- — Used before f in Latin.

Origin

Reconstructed Proto-Indo-European *dis, ‘apart,’ associated with the idea of ‘two.’

Note

Separating things supplied a route from physical apartness to undoing an action.

43 / 164
A traveler follows a single clear wooden sign arrow pointing along a forked walking path; arrow is functional shape without lettering, traveler strides on indicated branch.
noun

direction

duh-REK-shun/dəˈrekʃn/

The course along which something is guided.

Etymology
diLatinapart, away; reversal or negation
+rectLatinguide, straighten, or rule
+ionLatinan action, process, or result

The “keep straight” root becomes an action noun: making straight or guiding toward something. Direction names both that guidance and the course along which something moves.

Full entry

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