lineus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈliː.ne.ʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈliː.ne.us]^[1]

Forms

līneus (feminine līnea, neuter līneum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from līnum “flax” with the suffix -eus.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Cato, whom he dates 234–149 BC.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant made of flax or linen, and Virgil has līnea vincula “linen cords” and līnea terga, the linen lining of a shield.^[2][4]

British Medieval Latin used it of fishing lines, linen cloth, garments and linen-lined armour.^[5] The TLL notes that its neuter survives in Old French linge “linen”, and its feminine līnea “linen thread” became the word for a line, the source of English line.^[6][7]

Timeline

• 234–149 BC – Cato uses it.^[3]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of linen cords.^[4][3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of flax, linen.^[2]

Word family

• līnea

Related words

• līnum
• English line
• English linen

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
6. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
7. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com