linear

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈlɪn.i.ə/ (UK); /ˈlɪn.i.əɹ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin lineāris (“belonging to a line”), perhaps through French linéaire,^[2][3][4] from linea (“string, line”) (see line).^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or in lines: 1642, in Henry More's A Platonical Song of the Soul;^[2] 1656 in the OED and MWU.^[5][4]

Semantic evolution

Barnhart notes that linear and lineal are of the same origin: in Latin lineāris the suffix -ālis was dissimilated to -āris, but in Late Latin the rule was no longer active and the form in -ālis stayed.^[2][3] Extended in a line, and in mathematics of the first degree, is from 1706.^[5] Involving the use of lines is from 1840,^[5][3] and Linear A and Linear B, two Minoan scripts found in Crete by Arthur Evans, were named in 1902–03, in contrast to pictographic writing.^[5][3] In education, step-by-step programmed learning is from 1958.^[5]

Timeline

• 1642 – of lines.^[2]
• 1706 – extended in a line; in mathematics.^[5]
• 1840 – involving lines.^[5]
• 1902–03 – Linear A and B.^[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Of, relating to or resembling a line; straight.
2. Having only one dimension.
3. In art, using drawn lines rather than colour and light.
4. (education) Of programmed learning, proceeding step by step.

Word family

• linearly
• linearity
• curvilinear
• interlineal
• interlinear
• lineal
• bilinear
• colinear

Related words

• line
• lineage
• delineate

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press