Part 307

Di*rec*to"ri*al (?), a. [Cf. F. directorial.] 1. Having the quality of a director, or authoritative guide; directive.

2. Pertaining to: director or directory; specifically, relating to the Directory of France under the first republic. See Directory, 3.

Whoever goes to the directorial presence under this passport.

Burke.

Di*rect"or*ship (?), n. The condition or office of a director; directorate.

Di*rect"o*ry (?), a. [L. directorius.] Containing directions; enjoining; instructing; directorial.

Di*rect"o*ry, n.; pl. Directories (&?;). 1. A collection or body of directions, rules, or ordinances; esp., a book of directions for the conduct of worship; as, the Directory used by the nonconformists instead of the Prayer Book.

2. A book containing the names and residences of the inhabitants of any place, or of classes of them; an address book; as, a business directory.

3. [Cf. F. directoire.] A body of directors; board of management; especially, a committee which held executive power in France under the first republic.

4. Direction; guide. [R.] Whitlock.

Di*rect"ress, n. A woman who directs. Bp. Hurd.

Di*rect"rix (?), n.; pl. E. Directrixes (&?;), L. Directrices (&?;). 1. A directress. [R.] Jer. Taylor.

2. (Geom.) (a) A line along which a point in another line moves, or which in any way governs the motion of the point and determines the position of the curve generated by it; the line along which the generatrix moves in generating a surface. (b) A straight line so situated with respect to a conic section that the distance of any point of the curve from it has a constant ratio to the distance of the same point from the focus.

Dire"ful (?), a. [Dire + - ful.] Dire; dreadful; terrible; calamitous; woeful; as, a direful fiend; a direful day. -- Dire"ful*ly, adv. -- Dire"ful*ness, n.

Dire"ly, adv. In a dire manner. Drayton.

Di*rempt" (?; 215), a. [L. diremptus, p. p. of dirimere to take apart, separate; di- = dis- + emere to buy, orig., to take.] Divided; separated. [Obs.] Stow.

Di*rempt", v. t. To separate by force; to tear apart. [Obs.] Holinshed.

Di*remp"tion (?), n. [L. diremptio.] A tearing apart; violent separation. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

Dire"ness (?), n. [Dire- + - ness.] Terribleness; horror; woefulness. Shak.

Di*rep"tion (?), n. [L. direptio, fr. diripere to tear asunder, plunder; di- = dis- + rapere to seize and carry off.] The act of plundering, despoiling, or snatching away. [R.] Speed.

Di*rep*ti"tious (?), a. Characterized by direption. [R.] Encyc. Dict.

Di*rep*ti"tious*ly, adv. With plundering violence; by violent injustice. [R.] Strype.

Dirge (?), n. [Contraction of Lat. dirige, direct thou (imperative of dirigere), the first word of a funeral hymn (Lat. transl. of Psalm v. 8) beginning, "Dirige, Domine, in conspectu tuo vitam meam." See Direct, a., and cf. Dirige.] A piece of music of a mournful character, to accompany funeral rites; a funeral hymn.

The raven croaked, and hollow shrieks of owls Sung dirges at her funeral.

Ford.

Dirge"ful (?), a. Funereal; moaning.

Soothed sadly by the dirgeful wind.

Coleridge.