directory

directory
/di rek"teuh ree, -tree, duy-/, n., pl. directories, adj.
n.
1. a book containing an alphabetical index of the names and addresses of persons in a city, district, organization, etc., or of a particular category of people.
2. a board or tablet on a wall of a building listing the room and floor numbers of the occupants.
3. a book of directions.
4. Computers.
a. a list of files contained in external storage.
b. a description of characteristics of a particular file, as the layout of fields within each record.
5. the Directory, Fr. Hist. the body of five directors forming the executive power of France from 1795 to 1799.
adj.
6. serving to direct; directing; directive.
[1400-50; late ME < ML directorium, n. use of LL directorius DIRECTORIAL; in def. 5, trans. of F Directoire < ML, as above]

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(1795–99) Government set up during the French Revolution by the Constitution of 1795.

Legislative power was placed in the Council of Five Hundred and the Council of Ancients, while executive power was placed in a five-member Directory. Though the Directors nominally inherited many of the powers of the Committee of Public Safety, they had no funds to finance their projects or courts to enforce their will. The regime was marked by administrative chaos and corruption and by the uprisings in the Vendée. It was overthrown in Napoleon's Coup of 18–19 Brumaire.

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▪ French history

      the French Revolutionary government set up by the Constitution of the Year III, which lasted four years, from November 1795 to November 1799.

      It included a bicameral legislature known as the Corps Législatif. The lower house, or Council of Five Hundred (Conseil de Cinq-Cents), consisted of 500 delegates, 30 years of age or over, who proposed legislation; the Council of Ancients (Conseil des Anciens), consisted of 250 delegates, 40 years of age or over, who held the power to accept or veto the proposed legislation. The Ancients also picked the executive—the five Directors (Directeurs)—from lists drawn up by the Five Hundred. A Director had to be at least 40 years old and to have formerly served as a deputy or minister; a new one was chosen each year, on rotation. The Directors chose government ministers, ambassadors, army generals, tax collectors, and other officials. However, though nominally inheriting many of the centralized powers of the former Committee of Public Safety, they had no funds to finance their projects or courts to enforce their will. The Directory was a fatal experiment in weak executive powers; it was created in reaction to the puritanical dictatorship that had existed under the Reign of Terror of 1793–94, and it would end up yielding to the more disciplined dictatorship of Napoleon Bonaparte.

      The Directory suffered from widespread corruption. Its policies aimed at protecting the positions of those who had supported the Revolution and preventing the return of the Bourbons. Despite its unsavory reputation, it consolidated many of the achievements of the National Convention, such as the creation of a system of elite centralized schools, the grandes écoles. The French economy recovered from the disruption caused by the Terror, and the successes of the French armies laid the basis for the conquests of the Napoleonic period.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • directory — di‧rec‧to‧ry [daɪˈrektri, d ] noun directories PLURALFORM [countable] 1. a book or list of names, facts etc, usually arranged in alphabetical order: • I couldn t find your number in the telephone directory. • a new business directory • the …   Financial and business terms

  • directory — I noun catalogue, guidebook, handbook, index, manual, reference book, reference work II index roll Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • Directory — 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. [1913 Webster] 2. A… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • directory — [də rek′tə rē; ] also [ dīrek′tə rē] adj. [LL directorius] directing, guiding, or advising n. pl. directories [ML directorium < LL directorius] 1. a book of directions, as for church service 2. a book listing the names, addresses, etc. of a… …   English World dictionary

  • Directory — Di*rect o*ry, a. [L. directorius.] Containing directions; enjoining; instructing; directorial. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Directory — Directory, in der englischen Kirche die auf Veranlassung des Parlaments 1644 von einem Verein von Theologen abgefaßte Verordnung für den Gottesdienst. Die Verwerfung dieses D. durch Karl I. trug wesentlich zu dessen Sturz bei …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Directory — Directory, die von engl. Theologen 1644 auf Anordnung des Parlaments abgefaßte Vorschrift für den Gottesdienst …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • Directory —   [engl.], in der Dateiverwaltung so viel wie Verzeichnis. Im Zusammenhang mit der Dateizuordnungstabelle von DOS bedeutet der Begriff Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Universal-Lexikon

  • directory — /di rektəri/, it. /di rɛktori/ s. ingl. (propr. elenco, guida ), usato in ital. al femm. (inform.) [ciascuna partizione della memoria di un elaboratore elettronico, nella quale l utente colloca più documenti e files ] ▶◀ cartella …   Enciclopedia Italiana

  • directory — (n.) 1540s, guide, book of rules, from M.L. directorium, noun use of neut. of L. directorius, from directus (see DIRECT (Cf. direct) (v.)). Meaning alphabetical listing of inhabitants of a region is from 1732; listing of telephone numbers is from …   Etymology dictionary

  • directory — /diˈrɛktori, ingl. dɪˈrɛktərɪ/ [vc. ingl., propr. «libro, elenco di istruzioni»] s. f. inv. (elab., com.) cartella, folder (ingl.) …   Sinonimi e Contrari. Terza edizione

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