Line

Pronunciation

• enPR: lÄ«n, IPA: /laɪn/
• Rhymes: -aɪn

From Middle English line, lyne, from Old English līne ("line, cable, rope, hawser, series, row, rule, direction"), from Proto-Germanic *līnǭ ("line, rope, flaxen cord, thread"), from Proto-Germanic *līną ("flax, linen"), from Proto-Indo-European *līno- ("flax").

Influenced in Middle English by Middle French ligne ("line"), from Latin linea. More at linen.

The oldest sense of the word is "rope, cord, thread"; from this the senses "path", "continuous mark" were derived.

Full definition of line

Noun

1. A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight.
• 1816, Percy Shelley, The Daemon of the WorldThe atmosphere in flaming sparkles flew;
  And where the burning wheels
  Eddied above the mountain’s loftiest peak
  Was traced a line of lightning.
• 2009, Jory Sherman, Sidewinder:For their present position, he drew an inverted V. Then he drew a line and on either side he inscribed landmarks, ridges, passes. At the other end he drew a number of inverted Vs to represent the Arapaho village.
2. The arrow descended in a curved line. does the Antarctica quotation belong under another (extant or to-be-added) sense?Antarctica is remote from lines of travel.
1. (geometry) An infinitely extending one-dimensional figure that has no curvature; one that has length but not breadth or thickness.
2. (geometry, informal) A line segment; a continuous finite segment of such a figure.
3. (graph theory) An edge of a graph.
4. (geography) A circle of latitude or of longitude, as represented on a map.
5. (geography, ‘the line’ or ‘equinoctial line’) The equator.
• 1851, Herman Melville, , ch. 54She ship called Town-Ho was somewhere to the northward of the Line.
6. (music) One of the straight horizontal and parallel prolonged strokes on and between which the notes are placed.
7. (cricket) The horizontal path of a ball towards the batsman (see also length).
8. (soccer) The goal line
• 2011, October 1, Clive Lindsay, Kilmarnock 1 - 2 St Johnstone, St Johnstone's Liam Craig had to clear off the line before Steven Anderson sent a looping header into his own net for the equaliser on 36 minutes.
3. A rope, cord, string, or thread, of any thickness.
• 1884, Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Chapter IXThen we hunted up a place close by to hide the canoe in, amongst the thick willows. We took some fish off of the lines and set them again, and begun to get ready for dinner.
• 2007, Robert Newcomb, A March Into Darkness, Page 29:... he found preparing the hook far less fun than dangling the line in the water and waiting for a fish to come along. Finally succeeding, he beamed a smile up at his father, then lowered his line into the swift-moving Sippora.
• 2008, Joshua Plunkett, Jeanne K. Hanson, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Trees and Shrubs, page 164:Use fabric or nursery grade webbing around stakes and trunk, loosely tying the line to the tree about 6 inches below the point where the tree bounces back in your hand when you grab the trunk.
1. (firefighting) A hose.
4. Direction, path.the line of sight or the line of vision
5. The wire connecting one telegraphic station with another, a telephone or internet cable between two points: a telephone or network connection.I tried to make a call, but the line was dead.a dedicated linea shared linePlease speak up, the line is very faint.
6. A letter, a written form of communication.Drop me a line.
7. A connected series of public conveyances, as a roadbed or railway track; and hence, an established arrangement for forwarding merchandise, etc.a line of stagesan express line
8. (military) A trench or rampart, or the non-physical demarcation of the extent of the territory occupied by specified forces.
• 1917, John Masefield, The Old Front LineThis description of the old front line, as it was when the Battle of the Somme began, may some day be of use. ... It is hoped that this description of the line will be followed by an account of our people's share in the battle.
9. The exterior limit of a figure or territory: a boundary, contour, or outline; a demarcation.
• 1674 — John Milton, , book IVEden stretch'd her Line
  From Auran Eastward to the Royal Towrs
  Of great Seleucia,
10. A long tape or ribbon marked with units for measuring; a tape measure.
11. (obsolete) A measuring line or cord.
• Bible, Is. xliv. 13He marketh it out with a line.
12. That which was measured by a line, such as a field or any piece of land set apart; hence, allotted place of abode.
• 1611, King James Version, Psalms, xvi, 6The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yes. I have a goodly heritage.
13. A threadlike crease or wrinkle marking the face, hand, or body; hence, a characteristic mark.
• 1812-1818, Lord Byron, Though on his brow were graven lines austere.
• 1651, John Cleveland, "Fuscara", in Minor poets of the Caroline period, edited by (1921)He tipples palmistry, and dines On all her fortune-telling lines.
• 1975, Bob Dylan, Tangled Up in BlueI muttered somethin' underneath my breathShe studied the lines on my faceI must admit I felt a little uneasyWhen she bent down to tie the laces of my shoeTangled up in blue.
14. Lineament; feature; figure (of one's body).
• c 1609: , I mean, the lines of my body are as well drawn as his.
15. A more-or-less straight sequence of people, objects, etc., either arranged as a queue or column and often waiting to be processed or dealt with, or arranged abreast of one another in a row (and contrasted with a column), as in a military formation. from mid-16th c.The line forms on the right.There is a line of houses.
• 1817, Percy Shelley, A band of brothers gathering round me, made,
  Although unarmed, a steadfast front, ... now the line
  Of war extended, to our rallying cry
  As myriads flocked in love and brotherhood to die.
16. (military) The regular infantry of an army, as distinguished from militia, guards, volunteer corps, cavalry, artillery, etc.
17. (lineage) A series or succession of ancestors or descendants of a given person; a family or race; compare lineage.
• 14th c: Geoffrey Chaucer Of his lineage am I, and his offspring
  By very line,
• c 1604: Shakespeare, They hail'd him father to a line of kings.
• 1611, King James Version, Psalms, xix, 4Their line is gone out through all the earth.
• 1651, Thomas Hobbes, The rest of the history of the Old Testament derives the succession of the line of David to the Captivity, of which line was to spring the restorer of the kingdom of God ...
18. A small amount of text. Specifically:
1. a written or printed row of letters, words, numbers, or other text, especially a row of words extending across a page or column, or a blank in place of such text.The answer to the comprehension question can be found in the third line of the accompanying text.
2. a verse (in poetry).
• 1609, Shakespeare, Nay if you read this line, remember not,
  The hand that writ it.
3. a sentence of dialogue, especially from the later 19th c. in a play, movie, or the like.He was perfecting his pickup lines for use at the bar."It is what it is" was one his more annoying lines.
• 2010, Alison Hodge, Actor training, Anyone who has worked with Littlewood will wince at the memory of going over single lines time and time again, each actor in turn speaking the line until the valid intonation, phasing and emphasis emerged.
4. a lie or exaggeration, especially one told to gain another's approval or prevent losing it.Don't feed me a line!
5. Course of conduct, thought, occupation, or policy; method of argument; department of industry, trade, or intellectual activity. from earlier 17th c.
• 1835, w, Specimens of the table talk of the late Samuel Taylor Coleridge, He is uncommonly powerful in his own line; but it is not the line of a first-rate man.
6. The official, stated position (or set of positions) of an individual or group, particularly a political or religious faction. from later 19th c.Remember, your answers must match the party line.
7. The products or services sold by a business, or by extension, the business itself. from earlier 19th c.line of business, product lineHow many buses does the line have?The airline is in danger of bankruptcy.
8. (stock exchange) A number of shares taken by a jobber.
9. A measure of length:
1. equal to one twelfth of an inch.
• 1883, Alfred Swaine Taylor, Thomas Stevenson, The principles and practice of medical jurisprudenceThe cutis measures in thickness from a quarter of a line to a line and a half (a line is one-twelfth of an inch).
2. equal to one fortieth of an inch.
3. (historical) Alternative name for a maxwell, a unit of magnetic flux.
• 1898, Alfred Eugene Wiener, Practical calculation of dynamo-electric machines, page 47:At the same time, however, for calculation in the metric system, one metre is taken as the unit for the length of the conductor, one metre per second as the unit velocity, and one line per square centimetre as the unit of field density.
• 1903, William Richard Kelsey, Continuous current dynamos and motors and their control, page 39:The density will now be only one quarter of a line per square centimetre, and therefore a unit pole placed at a distance of 2 centimetres from a similar pole, will only be acted on with a force of one quarter of a dyne, ...
• 1904, Silvanus Phillips Thompson, Dynamo-electric machinery: a manual for students of electrotechniques: Volume 1, Part 1, page 74:The Paris Congress of 1900 adopted the name gauss as that of the unit of intensity of field, one gauss signifying one line per square centimetre. The same Congress also named one line as one maxwell, but everybody still uses the term line.
• 1909, Henry Metcalf Hobart, Electricity: a text book designed in particular for engineering, page 58:A magnetic flux is said to have a density of one line per square centimeter when it exerts on a unit north pole a force of one dyne.
4. (baseball, slang, 1800s, ‘the line’) The batter’s box.
5. (fencing, ‘line of engagement’) The position in which the fencers hold their swords.
• 1861, George Chapman, Foil Practice, with a Review of the Art of Fencing, page 12:Thus, for example, in the line of Quarte, the direct thrust is parried by dropping the point under the adversary's blade and circling upwards, throwing off the attack in the opposite line (that of Tierce), and upon the direct thrust in the line of Tierce, by a similar action throwing off the attack in the opposite line (that of Quarte).
6. Proper relative position or adjustment (of parts, not as to design or proportion, but with reference to smooth working).the engine is in line
   out of line
7. A small portion or serving (of a powdery illegal drug).
• 1998, Luke Davis, Candy:"Let's have a line." He pulled a razor blade from his pocket and scooped out a couple of mounds. He laid out seven thick lines on a mirror. He rolled up a fifty-dollar note and snorted a line.
• 2004, Burl Barer, Broken Doll, page 64:"Yes, we did. We both did a line, but maybe close to a half gram of crystal meth. I did a line and he did a way much bigger line."
• 2007, D. C. Fuller, Meth Monster: Crankin' Thru Life a Look Into the Abyss, page 474:Snorting it was a much slower blast off and a longer less intense buzz, that was much easier to function on. A few minutes after you snort a line you can feel the niacin rush coming up your back and washing over your head, ...
8. (obsolete) Instruction; doctrine.
• Bible, Psalms xix. 4Their line is gone out through all the earth.
9. (engineering) The proper relative position or adjustment of parts, not as to design or proportion, but with reference to smooth working.The engine is in line or out of line.

Synonyms

• geometry: infinite one-dimensional figure: straight line
• geometry: continuous segment of an infinite line: line segment
• letter: epistle, letter, note
• row of text: row

Related terms

• geometry curve, point, segment

Derived terms

Verb

1. (transitive) To place (objects) into a line (usually used with "up"); to form into a line; to align.to line troops
2. (transitive) To place persons or things along the side of for security or defense; to strengthen by adding; to fortify.to line works with soldiers
• 1599 — William Shakespeare, , ii 4Line and new repair our towns of war With men of courage and with means defendant.
3. To form a line along.
• 1899, Juliana Horatia Gatty Ewing, We and the world: a book for boys, page 19:... the crowd that lined the road to watch us as we wound slowly on.
• 1909, Road Notes : Cuba, published by the United States , Second Section, General Staff, No. 16; page 359:The mountains which have lined the road on the left here cross it and the road makes a very sharp ascent, going over them.
• 2009, Jon Fasman, The Unpossessed City:Knee-high garden lamps lined the path; Jim was careful to stay in their pools. Assuming he was being watched, the last thing he wanted to do was give them any reason to chase after him in the dark.
4. (transitive) To mark with a line or lines, to cover with lines.to line a copy book
5. (transitive, obsolete) To represent by lines; to delineate; to portray.
• 1598 — William Shakespeare, , iii 2All the pictures fairest lined Are but black to Rosalind.
6. (transitive) To read or repeat line by line.to line out a hymn
7. (intransitive, ‘line up’) To form or enter into a line.
8. (intransitive, baseball) To hit a line drive; to hit a line drive which is caught for an out. Compare fly and ground.
• Jones lined to left in his last at-bat.
9. To track (wild bees) to their nest by following their line of flight.

Pronunciation

• enPR: lÄ«n, IPA: /laɪn/
• Rhymes: -aɪn

Old English līn ("flax, linen, cloth"). For more information, see the entry "linen".

Noun

1. (obsolete) Flax; linen, particularly the longer fiber of flax.
• 1590, Edmund Spenser, , Book V, Canto VII, VIAnd clothed all in Garments made of line.

Verb

1. (transitive) To cover the inner surface of (something), originally especially with linen.
• 1963, Margery Allingham, The China Governess Chapter 6, Even in an era when individuality in dress is a cult, his clothes were noticeable. He was wearing a hard hat of the low round kind favoured by hunting men, and with it a black duffle-coat lined with white.
2. The bird lines its nest with soft grass.
   to line a cloak with silk or fur
   to line a box with paper or tin
   paintings lined the walls of the cavernous dining room
3. To reinforce (the back of a book) with glue and glued scrap material such as fabric or paper.
• 1891, English mechanics and the world of science: Volume 52, page 306:… such books are always close back—ie, the leather cover is always glued or pasted to the bare back of the book. After books have been lined the bands are put on if the style of binding admits of this operation.
• 1895, The British Printer: Volume VIII, page 94:Then again line the back, again bringing the paper a little further in than the second lining, and repeat the operation according to what you think the weight and size of the book demands in extra strength, …
4. (transitive) To fill or supply (something), as a purse with money.
• 1602, w, Carew's Survey of Cornwall, because the charge amounteth mostly very high for any one man's purse, except lined beyond ordinary, to reach unto
5. to line the shelves

Derived terms

From Middle French ligner.

Verb

1. (transitive, now rare, of a dog) to copulate with, to impregnate.
• 1825, A Lawson, The Modern Farrier:A bitch lined by a mangy dog is very liable to produce mangy puppies, and the progeny of a mangy bitch is certain to become affected some time or other.
• 1855, William Youatt, The Dog:Pliny states that the inhabitants of India take pleasure in having their dog bitches lined by the wild tigers, and to facilitate this union, they are in the habit of tieing them when in heat out in the woods, so that the male tigers may visit them.
• 1868 September, The Country Gentleman's Magazine, page 292:Bedlamite was a black dog, and although it may be safely asserted that he lined upwards of 100 bitches of all colours, red, white, and blue, all his produce were black.

Anagrams

• LEIN
• lien
• Neil
• Nile