Definition: line
Source: WordNet (r) 1.7
line
n 1: a formation of people or things one beside another; "the
line of soldiers advanced with their bayonets fixed";
"they were arrayed in line of battle"; "the cast stood
in line for the curtain call"
2: a mark that is long relative to its width; "He drew a line
on the chart"; "The substance produced characteristic
lines on the spectroscope"
3: a formation of people or things one behind another; "the
line stretched clear around the corner"; "you must wait in
a long line at the checkout counter"
4: a length (straight or curved) without breadth or thickness;
the trace of a moving point
5: text consisting of a row of words written across a page or
column or computer screen; "the letter consisted of three
short lines"
6: a single frequency (or very narrow band) of radiation in a
spectrum
7: a fortified position (especially one marking the most
forward position of troops); "they attacked the enemy's
line"
8: methodical reasoning; "I can't follow your line of
reasoning" [syn: argumentation, logical argument, line
of reasoning]
9: a conductor for transmitting electrical or optical signals
or electric power [syn: cable, transmission line]
10: a connected series of events or actions or developments;
"the government took a firm course"; "historians can only
point out those lines for which evidence is available"
[syn: course]
11: a spatial location defined by a real or imaginary
unidimensional extent
12: a slight depression in the smoothness of a surface; "his
face has many lines"; "ironing gets rid of most wrinkles"
[syn: wrinkle, furrow, crease, crinkle, seam]
13: a pipe used to transport liquids or gases; "a pipeline runs
from the wells to the seaport" [syn: pipeline]
14: railroad track and roadbed [syn: railway line, rail line]
15: a telephone connection [syn: telephone line, phone line]
16: acting in conformity; "in line with" or "he got out of line"
or "toe the line"
17: the descendants of one individual; "his entire lineage has
been warriors" [syn: lineage, line of descent, descent,
bloodline, blood line, blood, pedigree, ancestry,
origin, parentage, stock]
18: something (as a cord or rope) that is long and thin and
flexible; "a washing line"
19: the principal activity in your life that you do to earn
money; "he's not in my line of business" [syn: occupation,
business, job, line of work]
20: in games or sports; a mark indicating positions or bounds of
the playing area
21: (often plural) a means of communication or access; "it must
go through official channels"; "lines of communication
were set up between the two firms" [syn: channel, communication
channel]
22: a particular kind of product or merchandise; "a nice line of
shoes" [syn: product line, line of products, line of
merchandise, business line, line of business]
23: a commercial organization serving as a common carrier
24: space for one line of print (one column wide and 1/14 inch
deep) used to measure advertising [syn: agate line]
25: the maximum credit that a customer is allowed [syn: credit
line, line of credit, bank line, personal credit
line, personal line of credit]
26: a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence; "she
was humming an air from Beethoven" [syn: tune, melody,
air, strain, melodic line, melodic phrase]
27: a short personal letter; "drop me a line when you get there"
[syn: note, short letter]
28: a conceptual separation or demarcation: "there is a narrow
line between sanity and insanity" [syn: dividing line,
demarcation, contrast]
29: mechanical system in a factory whereby an article is
conveyed through sites at which successive operations are
performed on it [syn: production line, assembly line]
v 1: be in line with; form a line along; of trees along a river,
etc. [syn: run along]
2: cover the interior of, as of garments: "line the gloves"
3: make a mark or lines on a surface; "draw a line"; "trace the
outline of a figure in the sand" [syn: trace, draw, outline,
describe, delineate]
4: mark with lines; "sorrow had lined his face"
5: mark with lines, draw lines on; "The paper was lined"
6: fill plentifully; "line one's pockets"
7: reinforce with fabric; of books
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Line \Line\, n. [OE. line, AS. l[=i]ne cable, hawser, prob. from L. linea a linen thread, string, line, fr. linum flax, thread, linen, cable; but the English word was influenced by F. ligne line, from the same L. word linea. See Linen.] 1. A linen thread or string; a slender, strong cord; also, a cord of any thickness; a rope; a hawser; as, a fishing line; a line for snaring birds; a clothesline; a towline. Who so layeth lines for to latch fowls. --Piers Plowman. 2. A more or less threadlike mark of pen, pencil, or graver; any long mark; as, a chalk line. 3. The course followed by anything in motion; hence, a road or route; as, the arrow descended in a curved line; the place is remote from lines of travel. 4. Direction; as, the line of sight or vision. 5. A row of letters, words, etc., written or printed; esp., a row of words extending across a page or column. 6. A short letter; a note; as, a line from a friend. 7. (Poet.) A verse, or the words which form a certain number of feet, according to the measure. In the preceding line Ulysses speaks of Nausicaa. --Broome. 8. Course of conduct, thought, occupation, or policy; method of argument; department of industry, trade, or intellectual activity. He is uncommonly powerful in his own line, but it is not the line of a first-rate man. --Coleridge. 9. (Math.) That which has length, but not breadth or thickness. 10. The exterior limit of a figure, plat, or territory; boundary; contour; outline. Eden stretched her line From Auran eastward to the royal towers Of great Seleucia. --Milton. 11. A threadlike crease marking the face or the hand; hence, characteristic mark. Though on his brow were graven lines austere. --Byron. He tipples palmistry, and dines On all her fortune-telling lines. --Cleveland. 12. Lineament; feature; figure. ``The lines of my boy's face.'' --Shak. 13. A straight row; a continued series or rank; as, a line of houses, or of soldiers; a line of barriers. Unite thy forces and attack their lines. --Dryden. 14. A series or succession of ancestors or descendants of a given person; a family or race; as, the ascending or descending line; the line of descent; the male line; a line of kings. Of his lineage am I, and his offspring By very line, as of the stock real. --Chaucer. 15. A connected series of public conveyances, and hence, an established arrangement for forwarding merchandise, etc.; as, a line of stages; an express line. 16. (Geog.) (a) A circle of latitude or of longitude, as represented on a map. (b) The equator; -- usually called the line, or equinoctial line; as, to cross the line. 17. A long tape, or a narrow ribbon of steel, etc., marked with subdivisions, as feet and inches, for measuring; a tapeline. 18. (Script.) (a) A measuring line or cord. He marketh it out with a line. --Is. xliv. 13. (b) That which was measured by a line, as a field or any piece of land set apart; hence, allotted place of abode. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. --Ps. xvi. 6. (c) Instruction; doctrine. Their line is gone out through all the earth. --Ps. xix. 4. 19. (Mach.) The proper relative position or adjustment of parts, not as to design or proportion, but with reference to smooth working; as, the engine is in line or out of line. 20. The track and roadbed of a railway; railroad. 21. (Mil.) (a) A row of men who are abreast of one another, whether side by side or some distance apart; -- opposed to column. (b) The regular infantry of an army, as distinguished from militia, guards, volunteer corps, cavalry, artillery, etc. 22. (Fort.) (a) A trench or rampart. (b) pl. Dispositions made to cover extended positions, and presenting a front in but one direction to an enemy. 23. pl. (Shipbuilding) Form of a vessel as shown by the outlines of vertical, horizontal, and oblique sections. 24. (Mus.) One of the straight horizontal and parallel prolonged strokes on and between which the notes are placed. 25. (Stock Exchange) A number of shares taken by a jobber. 26. (Trade) A series of various qualities and values of the same general class of articles; as, a full line of hosiery; a line of merinos, etc. --McElrath. 27. The wire connecting one telegraphic station with another, or the whole of a system of telegraph wires under one management and name. 28. pl. The reins with which a horse is guided by his driver. [U. S.] 29. A measure of length; one twelfth of an inch. Hard lines, hard lot. --C. Kingsley. [See Def. 18.] Line breeding (Stockbreeding), breeding by a certain family line of descent, especially in the selection of the dam or mother. Line conch (Zo["o]l.), a spiral marine shell (Fasciolaria distans), of Florida and the West Indies. It is marked by narrow, dark, revolving lines. Line engraving. (a) Engraving in which the effects are produced by lines of different width and closeness, cut with the burin upon copper or similar material; also, a plate so engraved. (b) A picture produced by printing from such an engraving. Line of battle. (a) (Mil. Tactics) The position of troops drawn up in their usual order without any determined maneuver. (b) (Naval) The line or arrangement formed by vessels of war in an engagement. Line of battle ship. See Ship of the line, below. Line of beauty (Fine Arts),an abstract line supposed to be beautiful in itself and absolutely; -- differently represented by different authors, often as a kind of elongated S (like the one drawn by Hogarth). Line of centers. (Mach.) (a) A line joining two centers, or fulcra, as of wheels or levers. (b) A line which determines a dead center. See Dead center, under Dead. Line of dip (Geol.), a line in the plane of a stratum, or part of a stratum, perpendicular to its intersection with a horizontal plane; the line of greatest inclination of a stratum to the horizon. Line of fire (Mil.), the direction of fire. Line of force (Physics), any line in a space in which forces are acting, so drawn that at every point of the line its tangent is the direction of the resultant of all the forces. It cuts at right angles every equipotential surface which it meets. Specifically (Magnetism), a line in proximity to a magnet so drawn that any point in it is tangential with the direction of a short compass needle held at that point. --Faraday. Line of life (Palmistry), a line on the inside of the hand, curving about the base of the thumb, supposed to indicate, by its form or position, the length of a person's life. Line of lines. See Gunter's line. Line of march. (Mil.) (a) Arrangement of troops for marching. (b) Course or direction taken by an army or body of troops in marching. Line of operations, that portion of a theater of war which an army passes over in attaining its object. --H. W. Halleck. Line of sight (Firearms), the line which passes through the front and rear sight, at any elevation, when they are sighted at an object. Line tub (Naut.), a tub in which the line carried by a whaleboat is coiled. Mason and Dixon's line
Line \Line\ (l[imac]n), n. [OE. lin. See Linen.] 1. Flax; linen. [Obs.] ``Garments made of line.'' --Spenser. 2. The longer and finer fiber of flax.
Line \Line\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lined (l[imac]nd); p. pr. & vb. n. Lining.] [See Line flax.] 1. To cover the inner surface of; as, to line a cloak with silk or fur; to line a box with paper or tin. The inside lined with rich carnation silk. --W. Browne. 2. To put something in the inside of; to fill; to supply, as a purse with money. The charge amounteth very high for any one man's purse, except lined beyond ordinary, to reach unto. --Carew. Till coffee has her stomach lined. --Swift. 3. To place persons or things along the side of for security or defense; to strengthen by adding anything; to fortify; as, to line works with soldiers. Line and new repair our towns of war With men of courage and with means defendant. --Shak. 4. To impregnate; -- applied to brute animals. --Creech. Lined gold, gold foil having a lining of another metal.
Line \Line\ (l[imac]n), v. t.
1. To mark with a line or lines; to cover with lines; as, to
line a copy book.
He had a healthy color in his cheeks, and his face,
though lined, bore few traces of anxiety. --Dickens.
2. To represent by lines; to delineate; to portray. [R.]
``Pictures fairest lined.'' --Shak.
3. To read or repeat line by line; as, to line out a hymn.
This custom of reading or lining, or, as it was
frequently called, ``deaconing'' the hymn or psalm
in the churches, was brought about partly from
necessity. --N. D. Gould.
4. To form into a line; to align; as, to line troops.
To line bees, to track wild bees to their nest by following
their line of flight.
To line up (Mach.), to put in alignment; to put in correct
adjustment for smooth running. See 3d Line, 19.
Loxodromic \Lox`o*drom"ic\, a. [Gr. ? slanting, oblique + ? a running, course; cf. F. loxodromique.] Pertaining to sailing on rhumb lines; as, loxodromic tables. Loxodromic curve or line (Geom.), a line on the surface of a sphere, which always makes an equal angle with every meridian; the rhumb line. It is the line on which a ship sails when her course is always in the direction of one and the same point of the compass.
Shaft \Shaft\, n. [OE. shaft, schaft, AS. sceaft; akin to D. schacht, OHG. scaft, G. schaft, Dan. & Sw. skaft handle, haft, Icel. skapt, and probably to L. scapus, Gr. ????, ????, a staff. Probably originally, a shaven or smoothed rod. Cf. Scape, Scepter, Shave.] 1. The slender, smooth stem of an arrow; hence, an arrow. His sleep, his meat, his drink, is him bereft, That lean he wax, and dry as is a shaft. --Chaucer. A shaft hath three principal parts, the stele [stale], the feathers, and the head. --Ascham. 2. The long handle of a spear or similar weapon; hence, the weapon itself; (Fig.) anything regarded as a shaft to be thrown or darted; as, shafts of light. And the thunder, Winged with red lightning and impetuous rage, Perhaps hath spent his shafts. --Milton. Some kinds of literary pursuits . . . have been attacked with all the shafts of ridicule. --V. Knox. 3. That which resembles in some degree the stem or handle of an arrow or a spear; a long, slender part, especially when cylindrical. Specifically: (a) (Bot.) The trunk, stem, or stalk of a plant. (b) (Zo["o]l.) The stem or midrib of a feather. See Illust. of Feather. (c) The pole, or tongue, of a vehicle; also, a thill. (d) The part of a candlestick which supports its branches. Thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold . . . his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. --Ex. xxv. 31. (e) The handle or helve of certain tools, instruments, etc., as a hammer, a whip, etc. (f) A pole, especially a Maypole. [Obs.] --Stow. (g) (Arch.) The body of a column; the cylindrical pillar between the capital and base (see Illust. of Column). Also, the part of a chimney above the roof. Also, the spire of a steeple. [Obs. or R.] --Gwilt. (h) A column, an obelisk, or other spire-shaped or columnar monument. Bid time and nature gently spare The shaft we raise to thee. --Emerson. (i) (Weaving) A rod at the end of a heddle. (j) (Mach.) A solid or hollow cylinder or bar, having one or more journals on which it rests and revolves, and intended to carry one or more wheels or other revolving parts and to transmit power or motion; as, the shaft of a steam engine. See Illust. of Countershaft. 4. (Zo["o]l.) A humming bird (Thaumastura cora) having two of the tail feathers next to the middle ones very long in the male; -- called also cora humming bird. 5. [Cf. G. schacht.] (Mining) A well-like excavation in the earth, perpendicular or nearly so, made for reaching and raising ore, for raising water, etc. 6. A long passage for the admission or outlet of air; an air shaft. 7. The chamber of a blast furnace. Line shaft (Mach.), a main shaft of considerable length, in a shop or factory, usually bearing a number of pulleys by which machines are driven, commonly by means of countershafts; -- called also line, or main line. Shaft alley (Naut.), a passage extending from the engine room to the stern, and containing the propeller shaft. Shaft furnace (Metal.), a furnace, in the form of a chimney, which is charged at the top and tapped at the bottom.
Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (2003-OCT-10)
line 1. <hardware> An electrical conductor. For distances larger than a breadbox, a single line may consist of two electrical conductors in twisted, parallel, or concentric arrangement used to transport one logical signal. By extension, a (usually physical) medium such as an optical fibre which carries a signal. (1995-09-29)
