Wordwyrt

bidirectional

/ˈbɪdəˈekʃənəl/BIH-dur-EK-shuh-nuhl
/ˈbɪdɚˈɛkʃənəl/BIH-dur-EK-shuh-nuhl

Meaninggoing in two directions

Common meaning: able to go or act both ways

‘two’ + ‘apart’ + ‘to keep straight’ → bidirectional

Journey through time

  1. Latinregō, rēxī, rēctum‘to keep straight’
  2. Englishbidirectional‘able to go or act both ways’ · today

bi- also in: bigamybicyclebicuspidbifurcatebilateral

di- also in: digestdirectdistildivergedivulge

rect also in: rectumirregularderegulate

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin regō ‘to keep straight; to steer or rule’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry regō, p. 1551 · dictionary scan

Roots

Related words

deregulateirregularrectum

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