linéaire

Forms

linéaire (plural linéaires)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin līneāris (“of lines, linear, geometrical”), from līnea (“line”).^[2][3][1] The same Latin noun gave French ligne.^[1][3] Bloch and Wartburg date it to the 14th century, like linéal, borrowed from Late Latin līneālis.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLFi's first records are from the 15th century: nombres lineaires in Évrart de Conty's Problèmes d'Aristote and incision lineaire in a surgical text, both cited from Godefroy's supplement.^[2] The DHLF, Bloch and Wartburg and the GLLF date it to the 14th century.^[3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

Like the Latin word, it describes what relates to lines, has their look or form, or is made with lines.^[3] It was specialized in geometry and algebra (équation linéaire 1743, grandeur linéaire 1752)^[3][2] and, in botany, for narrow, elongated leaves (1793).^[5] Mesure linéaire “measure of length” is found in Laplace in 1796 and dessin linéaire in the Académie's dictionary of 1835.^[5] In linguistics, from 1933, it describes speech unfolding in one dimension like a line.^[2][5] It also took the abstract sense of what follows the course of a line, sometimes pejoratively of a narrative without depth, as Gide used it in 1943.^[3][5] About 1960 it became a noun in retailing for the length of shelving given to a product.^[3] English linear (1640s) was borrowed from it.^[6]

Timeline

• 1400s – Évrart de Conty writes of nombres lineaires.^[2]
• 1465 – The adverb linéairement is first recorded, as lignéairement.^[3]
• 1640s – English linear is borrowed from it.^[6]
• 1743 – Équation linéaire is recorded.^[3][5]
• 1752 – The Trévoux dictionary records algebraic uses.^[2][3]
• 1835 – Dessin linéaire appears in the Académie's dictionary.^[5]
• 1933 – First use in linguistics, by Marouzeau.^[2][5]
• c. 1960 – Used as a noun in retailing.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Relating to lines, expressed by lines: mesure linéaire (a measure of length), dessin linéaire (drawing in outline only).^[7][5][8]
2. (mathematics) That can be represented by a straight line, of the first degree: fonction linéaire, équation linéaire, algèbre linéaire.^[7][5]
3. (technical) Of a phenomenon in which quantities vary in proportion.^[7][9]
4. (botany) Of a leaf, narrow and elongated.^[7][5]
5. (linguistics) Unfolding in a single dimension, like the spoken chain.^[5][9]
6. Of a script, laid out in lines of signs that replaced the picture signs of hieroglyphic writing.^[7][9]
7. (figurative) Following a line without depth or digression, flat.^[7][9]

Noun

1. Linear script: linéaire A, linéaire B, the Cretan scripts, the second of which noted Mycenaean Greek.^[7][9]
2. (retail) The length of shelving given to a product in a shop.^[7][9][3]

Word family

• linéairement
• linéarité
• juxtalinéaire
• bilinéaire

Related words

• ligne
• linéal
• linéament
• Latin līneāris
• English linear

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d e f Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)