line English · revision 2037

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited, borrowing|attested=before 900 (Solomon and Saturn)|origins=la līnum}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /laɪn/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a Middle English merger of two words of the same origin:^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) [[inh|ang|līne|t=rope, cord; row, series]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) probably an early Germanic borrowing from Latin,^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002)^(COED 2004) and [[m|enm|ligne]] (about 1225, in King Horn), [[bor|fro|ligne|t=guideline, cord; lineage]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Both come from [[la|līnea|t=linen thread, string, plumb line]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) short for [[m|la|līnea restis|t=linen cord]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) the feminine of [[m|la|līneus|t=of linen, of flax]], from [[m|la|līnum|t=flax, linen]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) The Old English word has cognates in [[nl|lijn]], [[goh|līna]] (modern [[de|Leine|t=cord]]) and [[non|lína]].^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986) The verb “to put a lining in” is a separate word, from the obsolete line “flax, linen”, [[ang|līn]], from the same Latin noun, because linen was much used for linings.^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A cord or rope, and a row or series: Old English ''līne'' is recorded before 900, in ''Solomon and Saturn'',^(Barnhart 1988) and also meant a row of letters and a rule or direction.^(Etymonline) The earliest Middle English sense is a builder's measuring cord.^(Etymonline)^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By 1425 almost all the ordinary modern senses had been recorded.^(Barnhart 1988) From the builder's cord came “a thread-like mark” and “track, course, direction” in the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) and a line of descent (''a line of kings'') is also late 14th century.^(Etymonline) The mathematical sense “length without breadth” is from the 1550s, as is “people or things in a row”,^(Etymonline) now considered American English, where British English says ''queue'', though the sense appears first in British writers.^(Etymonline) A crease in the face or palm is a ''line'' from the 1530s, the equator from the 1580s, and a boundary from the 1590s.^(Etymonline) The sense “occupation, branch of business” (1630s) comes, according to the OED, from a misunderstood verse of the King James Bible (2 Corinthians 10:16, “another man's line”).^(Etymonline) The verb “to cover the inside of” is late 14th century, found about 1387 in Chaucer,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and “to fill plentifully” (''line one's pockets'') dates from the 1510s.^(Etymonline) A ''liner'' was a ship from 1829, an aircraft from 1905 and a cosmetic for the eyes from 1926.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 900 – Old English ''līne'', rope, row (''Solomon and Saturn'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1225 – ''ligne'', cord (''King Horn'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1340 – a builder's measuring cord.^(HTOED)

+ * late 14th century – a mark, a course, and a line of descent.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1387 – verb, to line a garment (Chaucer).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1398 – verb, to tie with a cord.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-15th century – verb, to mark with lines.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1510s – verb, to fill the inside of.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1530s – a crease in the face or palm.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1550s – length without breadth, and a row of people or things.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1580s – the equator.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1590s – a boundary.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1630s – one's occupation.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1640s – verb, to arrange in a line.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1829 – ''liner'', a ship.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1926 – ''liner'', an eye cosmetic.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A thin continuous mark, such as one made by a pen or brush.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[wrinkle]] or crease in the skin.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' The path of a moving point; a figure with length but no breadth.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A circle of latitude or longitude, or (as ''the line'') the [[equator]].^(AHD)

+ # A border or boundary: ''the county line''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A cord, rope or string: ''a fishing line''.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A row of people or things; a queue.^(Etymonline)

+ # A line of descent; [[lineage]].^(Etymonline)

+ # A course or direction: ''line of march''.^(HTOED)^(Etymonline)

+ # One's occupation or field: ''what's your line?''^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To mark or cover with lines.^(AHD)

+ # To place in a row; form a border along: ''crowds lined the streets''.^(AHD)

+ # To cover the inside of: ''line a coat with silk''.^(AHD)

+ # To fill plentifully: ''line one's pockets''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[linable]]

+ * [[lineless]]

+ * [[linelike]]

+ * [[underline]]

+ * [[liner]]

+ * [[line out]]

+ * [[line up]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[curve]]

+ * [[point]]

+ * [[segment]]

+ * [[lineage]]

+ * [[lineal]]

+ * [[linear]]

+ * [[linen]]

+ * [[lingerie]]

+ * [[align]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}