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are of the same origin: in Latin lineāris the suffix -ālis was dissimilated to -āris, but in Late Latin the rule was no longer active and the form in -ālis stayed.[2][3] Extended in a line, and in mathematics of the first degree, is from 1706.[5] Involving the use of lines is from 1840,[5][3]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
- Of, relating to or resembling a line; straight.
- Having only one dimension.
- In art, using drawn lines rather than colour and light.
- (education) Of programmed learning, proceeding step by step.
Word family
- linearly
- linearity
- curvilinear
- interlineal
- interlinear
- lineal
- bilinear
- colinear
Related words
- line
- lineage
- delineate
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
- ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ 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