direct-access
|di-rect-ac-cess|
🇺🇸
/dəˈrɛkt ˈæk.sɛs/
🇬🇧
/daɪˈrɛkt ˈæk.sɛs/
immediate, unmediated approach
Etymology
'direct-access' originates from Modern English as a compound of 'direct' and 'access', where 'direct' ultimately comes from Latin 'directus' meaning 'straight' or 'ruled' and 'access' comes from Latin 'accessus' meaning 'an approach' or 'coming to'.
'direct' passed into English via Middle English from Old French and Latin 'directus'; 'access' entered Middle English from Old French 'acces' (from Latin 'accessus'). The compound 'direct access' developed in Modern English usage, especially in technical contexts, and is often written with or without a hyphen (hence 'direct-access').
Initially the components meant 'straight/ruled' (direct) and 'an approach' (access); over time the compound came to mean 'an immediate or unmediated approach/entry', and in computing it specialized to mean non-sequential access to storage or memory.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
immediate entry or approach to something without intermediaries; the state of being able to reach or use something directly.
Users were granted direct-access to the archive for faster research.
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Noun 2
in computing, access to storage or memory locations without sequential scanning—e.g., random or direct addressing.
The file system supports direct-access, so programs can read sectors without sequential I/O.
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Adjective 1
allowing or providing direct access; used to describe devices, interfaces, or methods that enable direct entry or use.
We installed a direct-access interface for administrators.
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Last updated: 2025/08/22 17:49