linea Italian · revision 38126

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1282, Restoro d'Arezzo|origins=la līnum}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈli.ne.a/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''linea''' ''f'' (plural linee, diminutive lineétta or (uncommon) lineìna)^(Wiktionary)

+ An old form is [[roa-oit|linia]].^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned word, [[bor|la|linea|alt=līnea|t=linen thread, string; line]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The Latin noun was the feminine of the adjective [[m|la|lineus|alt=līneus|t=of flax, linen]] used on its own for a thread of linen, from [[m|la|linum|alt=līnum|t=flax]].^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(de Vaan 2008) De Vaan compares [[grc|λίνον|tr=línon|t=linen]] and the Baltic and Slavic words for flax, but because the forms cannot be brought back to one Indo-European shape he thinks the word was probably borrowed from another language.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ The old meaning “cord” still shows in a 15th-century Italian text, and a Ravenna papyrus of 625 already uses the Latin word for kinship.^(DELI 1999) Italian took the word from written Latin, but the popular form survives in verbs such as [[tralignare]] and [[allignare]], from the Pistoian form [[ligna]].^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|2236)^(Nocentini 2010) In French, Occitan and Catalan the word is inherited: [[fr|ligne]], [[pro|linha]], [[ca|llinya]], while [[es|línea]] is learned like the Italian word.^(REW 1935)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ Many modern uses, such as the phrases for a course of conduct and for the front line and the military and railway senses, copy the French word.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|2236) The Italian phrase for a hotline translates [[en|hot line]].^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in Restoro d'Arezzo's ''Composizione del mondo'' of 1282, in the geometrical sense of a figure traced by a moving point.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) Dante's ''Convivio'' (1304–1308) says that “the crooked line never joins the straight one” except at a point (''la torta linea con la diritta non si congiunge mai'').^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Already in the 14th century the word served for descent within a family, in Giovanni Villani before 1348, and in 1314 Francesco da Barberino glossed it in Latin as meaning “rule” in Italian.^(DELI 1999) Jacopo Passavanti in 1354 called the creases of the palm ''lineamenti'', and ''linee della mano'' is recorded from 1524.^(DELI 1999) From the 16th century it was used for the outline of the face and body (Castiglione, before 1529) and for the thread of a story.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The military sense, the front of an army drawn up for battle, appears before 1680 with Raimondo Montecuccoli, and the modern sense “course of conduct, policy” in 1713.^(DELI 1999) The 19th century added telegraph lines (1821), routes of public transport (1869) and the printed line of type (1840), and the 20th century electric lines (1914), the cut of a dress and the tenths of a degree on a clinical thermometer.^(DELI 1999) The phrases ''conservare'' and ''perdere la linea'' “to keep” and “to lose one's figure” belong to the 20th century.^(DEI|2236)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1282 – Restoro d'Arezzo uses ''linea'' in geometry.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1304–1308 – Dante writes of the crooked and the straight line in the ''Convivio''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses it for a line of descent.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1524 – ''Linee della mano'' are recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1680 – Montecuccoli uses it for the battle front.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1713 – Pier Jacopo Martello uses it for a course of conduct.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1821 – A telegraph line is mentioned in the Milanese press.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1869 – The sense “public transport route” appears.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1965 – The English ''hot line'' is adopted, later rendered ''linea calda''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|line]] drawn or cut on a surface: ''Traccia una linea sotto il titolo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(geometry)'' A figure that extends in length only, such as the path of a moving point.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(sports)'' A line marking the edge or the parts of a playing field.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Each of the creases of the palm, read in [[m|en|palmistry]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # The [[m|en|dash]] of the Morse code.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Each tenth of a degree on a clinical thermometer: ''avere qualche linea di febbre''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # [[m|en|outline|alt=Outline]], profile; a person's figure: ''Da quando corre ha ritrovato la linea.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(DEI|2236)

+ # ''(military)'' The front of troops drawn up for battle.^(DELI 1999)

+ # A line carrying electricity or telephone signals: ''La linea è caduta mentre parlavamo.''^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|2236)

+ # The route of a bus, train or airline service.^(DELI 1999)

+ # A course of conduct or policy: ''la linea del partito''.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|2236)

+ # A line of descent in a family.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[lineamento]]

+ * [[lineare]]

+ * [[linearità]]

+ * [[lineetta]]

+ * [[alinea]]

+ * [[allineare]]

+ * [[allineamento]]

+ * [[delineare]]

+ * [[interlinea]]

+ * [[interlineare]]

+ * [[sterlineare]]

+ * [[sottolineare]]

+ * [[sottolineatura]]

+ * [[tralignare]]

+ * [[tralignamento]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[autolinea]]

+ * [[capolinea]]

+ * [[dislignare]]

+ * [[guardalinee]]

+ * [[lignaggio]]

+ * [[lino]]

+ * [[la|linea]]

+ * [[fr|ligne]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Common phrases include ''in linea d'aria'' “as the crow flies”, ''a grandi linee'' “in broad outline” and ''in linea di massima'' “in principle”.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}