noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'
longitudinal direction; longer direction
Technical term used in engineering, manufacturing, and design to refer to the direction along the longer axis of an object.
この部品は長手方向に力が加わる。
Force is applied to this part in the longitudinal direction.
長手方向の寸法を測ってください。
Please measure the dimension in the longer direction.
Refers to the shorter or transverse direction, the opposite of 長手方向.
Compound of 長手 (nagate, 'long direction') + 方向 (hōkō, 'direction'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term is a straightforward technical compound.