The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Tax \Tax\, n. [F. taxe, fr. taxer to tax, L. taxare to touch,
   sharply, to feel, handle, to censure, value, estimate, fr.
   tangere, tactum, to touch. See Tangent, and cf. Task,
   Taste.]
   1. A charge, especially a pecuniary burden which is imposed
      by authority. Specifically:
      [1913 Webster]
      (a) A charge or burden laid upon persons or property for
          the support of a government.
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                A farmer of taxes is, of all creditors,
                proverbially the most rapacious.  --Macaulay.
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      (b) Especially, the sum laid upon specific things, as upon
          polls, lands, houses, income, etc.; as, a land tax; a
          window tax; a tax on carriages, and the like.

   Note: Taxes are annual or perpetual, direct or
         indirect, etc.
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      (c) A sum imposed or levied upon the members of a society
          to defray its expenses.
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   2. A task exacted from one who is under control; a
      contribution or service, the rendering of which is imposed
      upon a subject.
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   3. A disagreeable or burdensome duty or charge; as, a heavy
      tax on time or health.
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   4. Charge; censure. [Obs.] --Clarendon.
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   5. A lesson to be learned; a task. [Obs.] --Johnson.
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   Tax cart, a spring cart subject to a low tax. [Eng.]
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   Syn: Impost; tribute; contribution; duty; toll; rate;
        assessment; exaction; custom; demand.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Direct \Di*rect"\, a. [L. directus, p. p. of dirigere to direct:
   cf. F. direct. See Dress, and cf. Dirge.]
   1. Straight; not crooked, oblique, or circuitous; leading by
      the short or shortest way to a point or end; as, a direct
      line; direct means.
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            What is direct to, what slides by, the question.
                                                  --Locke.
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   2. Straightforward; not of crooked ways, or swerving from
      truth and openness; sincere; outspoken.
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            Be even and direct with me.           --Shak.
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   3. Immediate; express; plain; unambiguous.
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            He nowhere, that I know, says it in direct words.
                                                  --Locke.
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            A direct and avowed interference with elections.
                                                  --Hallam.
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   4. In the line of descent; not collateral; as, a descendant
      in the direct line.
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   5. (Astron.) In the direction of the general planetary
      motion, or from west to east; in the order of the signs;
      not retrograde; -- said of the motion of a celestial
      body.
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   6. (Political Science) Pertaining to, or effected immediately
      by, action of the people through their votes instead of
      through one or more representatives or delegates; as,
      direct nomination, direct legislation.
      [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

   Direct action.
      (a) (Mach.) See Direct-acting.
      (b) (Trade unions) See Syndicalism, below. [Webster 1913
          Suppl.]

   Direct discourse (Gram.), the language of any one quoted
      without change in its form; as, he said "I can not come;"
      -- correlative to indirect discourse, in which there is
      change of form; as, he said that he could not come. They
      are often called respectively by their Latin names,
      oratio directa, and oratio obliqua.

   Direct evidence (Law), evidence which is positive or not
      inferential; -- opposed to circumstantial evidence, or
      indirect evidence. -- This distinction, however, is
      merely formal, since there is no direct evidence that is
      not circumstantial, or dependent on circumstances for its
      credibility. --Wharton.

   Direct examination (Law), the first examination of a
      witness in the orderly course, upon the merits. --Abbott.

   Direct fire (Mil.), fire, the direction of which is
      perpendicular to the line of troops or to the parapet
      aimed at.

   Direct process (Metal.), one which yields metal in working
      condition by a single process from the ore. --Knight.

   Direct tax, a tax assessed directly on lands, etc., and
      polls, distinguished from taxes on merchandise, or
      customs, and from excise.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Direct \Di*rect"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Directed; p. pr. & vb.
   n. Directing.]
   1. To arrange in a direct or straight line, as against a
      mark, or towards a goal; to point; to aim; as, to direct
      an arrow or a piece of ordnance.
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   2. To point out or show to (any one), as the direct or right
      course or way; to guide, as by pointing out the way; as,
      he directed me to the left-hand road.
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            The Lord direct your into the love of God. --2
                                                  Thess. iii. 5.
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            The next points to which I will direct your
            attention.                            --Lubbock.
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   3. To determine the direction or course of; to cause to go on
      in a particular manner; to order in the way to a certain
      end; to regulate; to govern; as, to direct the affairs of
      a nation or the movements of an army.
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            I will direct their work in truth.    --Is. lxi. 8.
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   4. To point out to with authority; to instruct as a superior;
      to order; as, he directed them to go.
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            I 'll first direct my men what they shall do.
                                                  --Shak.
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   5. To put a direction or address upon; to mark with the name
      and residence of the person to whom anything is sent; to
      superscribe; as, to direct a letter.

   Syn: To guide; lead; conduct; dispose; manage; regulate;
        order; instruct; command.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Direct \Di*rect"\, v. i.
   To give direction; to point out a course; to act as guide.
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         Wisdom is profitable to direct.          --Eccl. x. 10.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Direct \Di*rect"\, n. (Mus.)
   A character, thus [?], placed at the end of a staff on the
   line or space of the first note of the next staff, to apprise
   the performer of its situation. --Moore (Encyc. of Music).
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

direct
    adv 1: without deviation; "the path leads directly to the lake";
           "went direct to the office" [syn: directly, straight,
           direct]
    adj 1: direct in spatial dimensions; proceeding without
           deviation or interruption; straight and short; "a direct
           route"; "a direct flight"; "a direct hit" [ant:
           indirect]
    2: having no intervening persons, agents, conditions; "in direct
       sunlight"; "in direct contact with the voters"; "direct
       exposure to the disease"; "a direct link"; "the direct cause
       of the accident"; "direct vote" [syn: direct, unmediated]
    3: straightforward in means or manner or behavior or language or
       action; "a direct question"; "a direct response"; "a direct
       approach" [ant: indirect]
    4: in a straight unbroken line of descent from parent to child;
       "lineal ancestors"; "lineal heirs"; "a direct descendant of
       the king"; "direct heredity" [syn: lineal, direct] [ant:
       collateral, indirect]
    5: moving from west to east on the celestial sphere; or--for
       planets--around the sun in the same direction as the Earth
       [ant: retrograde]
    6: similar in nature or effect or relation to another quantity;
       "a term is in direct proportion to another term if it
       increases (or decreases) as the other increases (or
       decreases)" [ant: inverse]
    7: (of a current) flowing in one direction only; "direct
       current" [ant: alternating]
    8: being an immediate result or consequence; "a direct result of
       the accident"
    9: in precisely the same words used by a writer or speaker; "a
       direct quotation"; "repeated their dialog verbatim" [syn:
       direct, verbatim]
    10: lacking compromising or mitigating elements; exact; "the
        direct opposite"
    v 1: command with authority; "He directed the children to do
         their homework"
    2: intend (something) to move towards a certain goal; "He aimed
       his fists towards his opponent's face"; "criticism directed
       at her superior"; "direct your anger towards others, not
       towards yourself" [syn: target, aim, place, direct,
       point]
    3: guide the actors in (plays and films)
    4: be in charge of
    5: take somebody somewhere; "We lead him to our chief"; "can you
       take me to the main entrance?"; "He conducted us to the
       palace" [syn: lead, take, direct, conduct, guide]
    6: cause to go somewhere; "The explosion sent the car flying in
       the air"; "She sent her children to camp"; "He directed all
       his energies into his dissertation" [syn: send, direct]
    7: point or cause to go (blows, weapons, or objects such as
       photographic equipment) towards; "Please don't aim at your
       little brother!"; "He trained his gun on the burglar"; "Don't
       train your camera on the women"; "Take a swipe at one's
       opponent" [syn: aim, take, train, take aim, direct]
    8: lead, as in the performance of a composition; "conduct an
       orchestra; Barenboim conducted the Chicago symphony for
       years" [syn: conduct, lead, direct]
    9: give directions to; point somebody into a certain direction;
       "I directed them towards the town hall"
    10: specifically design a product, event, or activity for a
        certain public [syn: calculate, aim, direct]
    11: direct the course; determine the direction of travelling
        [syn: steer, maneuver, manoeuver, manoeuvre,
        direct, point, head, guide, channelize,
        channelise]
    12: put an address on (an envelope) [syn: address, direct]
    13: plan and direct (a complex undertaking); "he masterminded
        the robbery" [syn: mastermind, engineer, direct,
        organize, organise, orchestrate]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

476 Moby Thesaurus words for "direct":
   Attic, Ciceronian, Spartan, address, address to, administer,
   administrate, advise, advocate, aim, aim at, allude to, apply,
   appoint, arrowlike, articulated, artless, ascetic, assign, austere,
   bald, bare, be master, be responsible for, beam, bend, bid, bluff,
   blunt, born yesterday, brief, bring to attention, bring to notice,
   broad, broaden the mind, brusque, buckle down, call attention to,
   call on, call the shots, call the signals, call upon, candid,
   captain, carry on, carry out, carry through, cast, catechize,
   categorical, catenated, ceaseless, chair, charge, chart a course,
   chaste, childlike, cite, civilize, classic, clean-cut, clear,
   clear as crystal, clear as day, clear-cut, close, coach, coherent,
   command, commission, common, commonplace, concatenated, cond,
   conduct, conduct to, confer, confiding, conn, connected,
   consistent, constant, consult with, contiguous, continual,
   continued, continuing, continuous, control, counsel, coxswain,
   crisp, crystal-clear, crystalline, cyclical, dead, dead ahead,
   dead straight, deal with, decide, declare, decree, define, defined,
   definite, delicate, demonstrate, determine, devote, dictate,
   diphyletic, direct attention to, direct to, directionize, directly,
   discipline, dispose, distinct, divert, dominate, downright, drive,
   dry, due, due north, dull, easy, edify, educate, elegant, endless,
   engineer, enjoin, enlighten, escort, even, exact, explicit,
   express, faithful, family, fasten, featureless, fine, finished,
   firsthand, fix, fix on, flat, focus, focus on, forthright, frank,
   frankhearted, free, free-speaking, free-spoken, free-tongued,
   gapless, genealogical, genuine, give, give an order,
   give instruction, give lessons in, give the word, govern, graceful,
   gracile, ground, guide, guileless, handle, have the conn, head,
   head up, heart-to-heart, helm, hold on, homely, homespun, honest,
   horizontal, illumine, immediate, in a beeline, in a line,
   in line with, inartificial, incessant, incline, inerrable,
   inerrant, infallible, inform, ingenu, ingenuous, innocent,
   instruct, interminable, irreversible, issue a command,
   issue a writ, joined, jointless, keep, kibitz, lay, lead, lead on,
   lead to, lean, level, level at, limpid, lineal, linear, linked,
   literally, literatim, loud and clear, lucid, luminous, mail,
   make go, make the rules, manage, mandate, maneuver, manipulate,
   mastermind, mathematical, matter-of-fact, meddle, mention,
   microscopic, monotonous, naive, native, natural, navigate, neat,
   never-ending, next, nice, nonstop, officer, one-way, open,
   open the eyes, openhearted, operate, ordain, order, order about,
   outright, outspoken, pellucid, perennial, perform on, periodic,
   perspicuous, phyletic, phylogenetic, pick out, pilot, pinpoint,
   plain, plain-speaking, plain-spoken, play, point, point at,
   point out, point out to, point the way, point to, point-blank,
   polished, post, practice, precise, prescribe, present,
   preside over, primary, proclaim, promulgate, pronounce, propose,
   prosaic, prosing, prosy, proximate, pull the strings, pure,
   put right, quarterback, recommend, rectilineal, rectilinear,
   recurrent, reeducate, refer to, refined, regulate, religious,
   religiously exact, repetitive, require, restrained, right, rigid,
   rigorous, round, round-the-clock, route, rule, ruler-straight, run,
   running, rustic, say the word, school, scientific,
   scientifically exact, seamless, see, see to, send, serried, set,
   set right, set straight, settle, severe, shape a course,
   sharpen the wits, shepherd, shortest, show, show how, show the way,
   sight on, simple, simple-speaking, simplehearted, simpleminded,
   sincere, single-hearted, single-minded, skipper, smooth, sober,
   spare, specify, square, stable, stand over, stark, steady, steer,
   straight, straight across, straight ahead, straight-cut,
   straight-front, straight-out, straight-side, straightaway,
   straightforward, straightforwards, straightly, straightway,
   streamlined, strict, submit, subtle, suggest, superintend,
   superscribe, supervise, tactless, take care of, take command,
   take the lead, tasteful, teach, teach a lesson,
   teach the rudiments, tell, terse, through, throw, to the point,
   touch on, train, train upon, translucent, transparent,
   transpicuous, trim, true, trustful, trusting, turn, turn upon,
   twenty-four-hour, unadorned, unaffected, unambiguous, unartificial,
   unassuming, unbending, unbent, unbowed, unbroken, unceasing,
   unchecked, unconcealed, unconfused, unconstrained, uncurved,
   undeflected, undeviating, undeviatingly, undifferentiated,
   undiplomatic, undisguised, undissembled, undistorted, unending,
   unequivocal, unerring, unfeigning, unguarded, unidirectional,
   uniform, unimaginative, uninhibited, unintermitted, unintermittent,
   unintermitting, uninterrupted, univocal, unlabored, unmistakable,
   unmitigated, unobstructed, unpoetical, unpretending, unpretentious,
   unqualified, unrelieved, unremitting, unreserved, unrestrained,
   unsophisticated, unstopped, unsuspicious, unswerving, unswervingly,
   unturned, unvarnished, unveeringly, unwary, upright, usher,
   vertical, warn, wear the pants, well-defined, wield authority,
   wield the baton, word for word, work



Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

DIRECT. Straight forward; not collateral.
     2. The direct line of descents for example, is formed by a series of
degrees  between persons who descend one from another. Civ. Code of Lo. art.
886.