# directory

> English word · Noun · IPA /dɪˈɹɛktəɹi/ · frequency rank #7,909

## Definitions
1. A list of names, addresses etc, of specific classes of people or organizations, often in alphabetical order or in some classification.
2. A structured listing of the names and characteristics of the files on a storage device.
3. A virtual container in a computer's file system, in which files and other directories may be stored. The files and subdirectories in a directory are usually related.
4. A form of government with a collegial executive whose members jointly exercise power; the executive of such a government.

## Etymology
From Middle English directorie, dyrectorye, from Medieval Latin dīrēctōrium. By surface analysis, direct + -ory. Doublet of directorium. The political sense is a semantic loan from French directoire.

## Easily confused with
- **director** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/director-vs-directory)
- **directly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/directly-vs-directory)
- **directors** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/directors-vs-directory)

## Common misspellings (14)
`ddirectory`, `dierctory`, `dircetory`, `direcctory`, `direcotry`, `directorry`, `directoryy`, `directoyr`, `directroy`, `directtory`, `diretcory`, `dirrectory`, `driectory`, `idrectory`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/directory