The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Direction \Di*rec"tion\, n. [L. directio: cf. F. direction.]
   1. The act of directing, of aiming, regulating, guiding, or
      ordering; guidance; management; superintendence;
      administration; as, the direction o? public affairs or of
      a bank.
      [1913 Webster]

            I do commit his youth
            To your direction.                    --Shak.
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            All nature is but art, unknown to thee;
            ll chance, direction, which thou canst not see.
                                                  --Pope.
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   2. That which is imposed by directing; a guiding or
      authoritative instruction; prescription; order; command;
      as, he grave directions to the servants.
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            The princes digged the well . . . by the direction
            of the law giver.                     --Numb. xxi.
                                                  18.
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   3. The name and residence of a person to whom any thing is
      sent, written upon the thing sent; superscription;
      address; as, the direction of a letter.
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   4. The line or course upon which anything is moving or aimed
      to move, or in which anything is lying or pointing; aim;
      line or point of tendency; direct line or course; as, the
      ship sailed in a southeasterly direction.
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   5. The body of managers of a corporation or enterprise; board
      of directors.
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   6. (Gun.) The pointing of a piece with reference to an
      imaginary vertical axis; -- distinguished from elevation.
      The direction is given when the plane of sight passes
      through the object. --Wilhelm.

   Syn: Administration; guidance; management; superintendence;
        oversight; government; order; command; guide; clew.

   Usage: Direction, Control, Command, Order. These
          words, as here compared, have reference to the
          exercise of power over the actions of others. Control
          is negative, denoting power to restrain; command is
          positive, implying a right to enforce obedience;
          directions are commands containing instructions how to
          act. Order conveys more prominently the idea of
          authority than the word direction. A shipmaster has
          the command of his vessel; he gives orders or
          directions to the seamen as to the mode of sailing it;
          and exercises a due control over the passengers.
          [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

direction
    n 1: a line leading to a place or point; "he looked the other
         direction"; "didn't know the way home" [syn: direction,
         way]
    2: the spatial relation between something and the course along
       which it points or moves; "he checked the direction and
       velocity of the wind"
    3: a general course along which something has a tendency to
       develop; "I couldn't follow the direction of his thoughts";
       "his ideals determined the direction of his career"; "they
       proposed a new direction for the firm"
    4: something that provides direction or advice as to a decision
       or course of action [syn: guidance, counsel,
       counseling, counselling, direction]
    5: the act of managing something; "he was given overall
       management of the program"; "is the direction of the economy
       a function of government?" [syn: management, direction]
    6: a message describing how something is to be done; "he gave
       directions faster than she could follow them" [syn:
       direction, instruction]
    7: the act of setting and holding a course; "a new council was
       installed under the direction of the king" [syn: steering,
       guidance, direction]
    8: a formal statement of a command or injunction to do
       something; "the judge's charge to the jury" [syn:
       commission, charge, direction]
    9: the concentration of attention or energy on something; "the
       focus of activity shifted to molecular biology"; "he had no
       direction in his life" [syn: focus, focusing,
       focussing, focal point, direction, centering]