linearadj.n.

Brit.

/ˈlɪnɪə/, U.S.

/ˈlɪniər/

Etymology: < Latin līneāris, < līnea line n.¹ Compare French linéaire.

A. adj.

1. Of or pertaining to a line or lines. linear perspective n. that branch of perspective which is concerned with the apparent form, magnitude, and position of visual objects, as distinguished from aerial perspective (see aerial adj. 2).

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > geometry > line > [adjective]

linear1656

the world > space > shape > condition of being long in relation to breadth > linearity > [adjective] > relating to or characterized by linear quality

linear1656

lineal1792

linearistic1908

the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > longitudinal extent > [adjective] > having (more or less) length > and no breadth or thickness > of or relating to

linear1656

the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > [noun] > perspective > linear perspective

lineal perspective1797

linear perspective1841

1656 T. Blount Glossographia Linear, pertaining to a line, lineal.

1841 W. Spalding Italy & Ital. Islands I. 192 When backgrounds were introduced, they were ill-executed, the linear-perspective being nowhere accurately observed.

1865 Pall Mall Gaz. 11 Nov. 9 That linear hardness which never appears in nature.

1869 J. Martineau Ess. Philos. & Theol. 2nd Ser. 63 The general rules of linear perspective.

1878 H. P. Gurney Crystallogr. 29 This difference between models and crystals must be remembered. The former have linear symmetry.

a. Consisting of lines; involving the use of lines.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > drawing lines > [adjective] > consisting of lines

lineary1551

lineal1624

linear1830

1840 D. Lardner Treat. Geom. ix. 93 The..extent of space included within the linear boundaries of any figure is called its area.

1884 J. Ruskin Pleasures of Eng. 21 The Celts developing peculiar gifts in linear design, but wholly incapable of drawing animals and figures.

1900 Contemp. Rev. Dec. 796 Two systems of writing, pictographic and linear, did, indeed, exist in the early Aegean world.

figurative.1830 T. Carlyle in Fraser's Mag. Nov. 415/2 Narrative is linear, Action is solid.

b. Linear A n. the earlier of two related forms of writing discovered at Knossos in Crete by Sir A. J. Evans between 1894 and 1901. Linear B n. the later form, found also on the mainland of Greece, and now shown to be a syllabary imperfectly adapted to the writing of Mycenæan Greek.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > system of writing > [noun] > of specific languages > Linear A or Linear B

Linear A1948

Linear B1950

society > communication > writing > system of writing > [adjective] > of specific languages > Linear A or Linear B

Linear A1948

Linear B1950

1904 A. J. Evans in Ann. Brit. School Athens 1902–3 9 52 This early system of linear script—which may be conveniently termed Class A as opposed to Class B of the latest Palace Period at Knossos—had a wide extension in the island.]

1907 R. M. Burrows Discov. in Crete vi. 84 The linear writing of class A is now in regular use.

1907 R. M. Burrows Discov. in Crete vi. 92 The hoard of clay tablets..shows that its linear writing, called by Mr. Evans Class B, is more advanced.

1909 A. J. Evans Scripta Minoa I. i. v. 31 Documents belonging to the Linear Class A only occur in this particular stratum... In deposits clearly belonging to the remodelled building the inscribed documents all belonged to Class B.

1909 A. J. Evans Scripta Minoa I. i. v. 35 Common to both the linear scripts A and B.

1909 A. J. Evans Scripta Minoa I. i. v. 36 The system of numerals..of the Linear Class B.

1948 A. E. Kober in Amer. Jrnl. Archaeol. 52 89 Inscriptions of Linear A have been found at several sites.

1950 E. L. Bennett in Amer. Jrnl. Archaeol. 54 81/1 Translations of and commentary upon additional Linear-B tablets from Knossos.

1950 E. L. Bennett in Amer. Jrnl. Archaeol. 54 204/1 The Linear A flourished in the rest of Crete.., and the Linear B at Knossos only.

1950 E. L. Bennett in Amer. Jrnl. Archaeol. 54 218/2 The Linear A ideogram L85 appears to have..the same form.

1950 E. L. Bennett in Amer. Jrnl. Archaeol. 54 219/1 The shapes of four other signs of Linear A..are reflected in the Linear B signs.

1952 J. L. Myres Evans' Scripta Minoa II. 1 In this new ‘Linear A’ script about one-third of the signs are derived from linearized hieroglyphs.

1952 J. L. Myres Evans' Scripta Minoa II. 2 It was doubtless..local unconformity that provoked the drastic reform of the ‘Linear B’ script at Knossos.

1953 M. Ventris & J. Chadwick in Jrnl. Hellenic Stud. 73 84 Evans believed that Linear B..was an administrative revision of Linear A, designed to express the same ‘Aegean’ language.

1966 C. H. Gordon Evidence for Minoan Lang. ix. 32 The Linear A and B texts overlap in time.

1972 Sci. Amer. Oct. 37/1 The Cretan system of writing, which we call Linear A, was crude but it was adequate for keeping rough accounts.

c. Music. = horizontal adj. 4.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > melody or succession of sounds > [adjective]

melodial?1590

systaltic1694

melodic1823

horizontal1886

linear1944

1944 W. Apel Harvard Dict. Music 409/1 Linear counterpoint, a term introduced by E. Kurth..in order to emphasize the ‘linear’, i.e., horizontal aspect of counterpoint... The term is also used..for what the Germans call rücksichtsloser (reckless) Kontrapunkt, i.e., the modern type of counterpoint which pays little attention to harmonic combination and euphony.

1955 L. Feather Encycl. Jazz ii. 53 Similarly ‘horizontal’ or ‘linear’ refers to the relationship of the notes or chords as they are played one after the other, read horizontally across the manuscript.

1958 A. Jacobs New Dict. Music 211 Linear counterpoint, term—senseless, because all counterpoint is a matter of lines—sometimes used for a type of 20th-century counterpoint (e.g. Stravinsky's) held to be musically valid through the value of the separate lines themselves.

1959 Listener 8 Jan. 80/2 In the slow movement the orchestral texture begins in linear style, spare and canonic.

1962 Listener 18 Jan. 147/1 Linear and rhythmic techniques suggested by medieval music.

1962 Listener 18 Jan. 147/2 A conscious employment of linear and metrical ‘series’ derived from Indian ragas and talas.

a. Having the direction of a line; extended in a line or in length; spec. in Mathematics and Physics involving measurement in one dimension only; capable of being represented by a straight line on a graph (in Cartesian co-ordinates); involving or possessing the property that a change in one quantity is accompanied by or corresponds to a directly proportional change in a related one. linear equation, an equation of the first degree. linear numbers, linear problem (see quots. 1706¹, 1706²).

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > [adjective]

running1663

lineal1705

linear1706

the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [noun] > particular qualities > relating only to length

lineal numbera1398

linear numbers1706

the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > longitudinal extent > [adjective] > having (more or less) length > and no breadth or thickness

lineary1551

breadthless1642

running1663

lineal1705

linear1706

the world > relative properties > number > algebra > [noun] > expression > equation > named according to highest power

quadratic equation1647

biquadratic1661

quadratic1674

linear1684

cubic equation1728

linear equation1816

biordinal1876

the world > relative properties > number > graph or diagram > [adjective] > of a graph

reconcilable1873

smoothed1888

linear1910

J-shaped1911

nomographic1915

smooth1929

complete1935

spanning1956

reachable1959

embeddable1961

1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Linear Numbers, are those that have relation to Length only: For Example, such as represent one Side of a plane Figure; and if the Figure be a Square, the Linear Number is call'd a Root.

1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Linear Problem (in Mathem.), such a Problem as can be solved Geometrically, by the Intersection..of two Right~lines.

1799 J. Wood Elem. Optics (1811) iv. 83 This line is called the diameter, or linear aperture of the lens.

1806 C. Hutton Course Math. (ed. 5) I. 340 Similar Prisms and Cylinders are to each other, as the Cubes of their Altitudes, or of any other Like Linear Dimensions.

1812 J. Playfair Outl. Nat. Philos. I. 192 The superficial breadth of the stream, expressed in linear inches.

1816 tr. S. F. Lacroix Elem. Treat. Differential & Integral Calculus 326 We call it from thence, a linear equation of the first order.

1830 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. I. 314 Active volcanic vents..arranged in a linear direction.

1831 D. Brewster Treat. Optics xli. 336 The linear magnifying power is the number of times an object is magnified in length.

1867 E. B. Denison Astron. without Math. (ed. 3) 71 The resistance does diminish the actual or linear speed.

1872 H. A. Nicholson Man. Palæontol. 44 It is possible to arrange the animals of any one sub-kingdom in something like a linear series.

1882 G. M. Minchin Uniplanar Kinematics 6 A point P moves in a circle with constant linear velocity.

1882 G. M. Minchin Uniplanar Kinematics 123 So that (ξ, η) are also linear functions of (ξ′, η′); and if the first satisfy a linear equation..so must the second.

1910 Encycl. Brit. IX. 146/2 The limiting tension beyond which the above law of proportionality [between tension and extension] fails to hold is often called the ‘limit of linear elasticity’.

1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 503/1 Linear amplification, amplification in which the output current or voltage is strictly proportional to the input voltage.

1941 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 177 382 The disintegration of boron by slow neutrons has been investigated using an ionization chamber filled with boron trichloride in conjunction with a linear amplifier.

1942 Electronic Engin. 14 711/1 The conversion must be accomplished in a linear manner, i.e., the amplitude change is directly proportional to the frequency change.

1962 D. F. Shaw Introd. Electronics vii. 126 The preservation of the shape is a unique property of the sine wave and..is a feature which it possesses for all linear circuits.

1962 D. F. Shaw Introd. Electronics viii. 147 A circuit is linear if the individual components behave in such a manner that the amplitude of the current through each component is directly proportional to the amplitude of the applied voltage and the relationship between the phases of the voltage and current is independent of the current and voltage magnitude.

1973 Physics Bull. Oct. 606/1 A linearizer circuit is used to ensure a true linear relationship between conveyor load and indicated reading.

b. Education. Designating or pertaining to programmed learning aimed at step-by-step progress in which the material is broken down into small steps each of which must elicit a correct response before the next one is presented; frequently contrasted with branching methods.For linear programming in a different sense see Compounds 2.

ΘΚΠ

society > education > learning > [adjective] > types of learning

kennetic1950

linear1958

sleep-learn1968

1958 B. F. Skinner in Science 24 Oct. 974/2 A first step is to define the field. A second is to collect technical terms, facts, laws, principles, and cases. These must then be arranged in a plausible developmental order—linear if possible, branching if necessary.

1961 Barron's National Business & Financial Weekly 30 Oct. 14/2 We are disciples of neither Crowder nor Skinner. Our programs will make use of either branching or linear techniques, depending on which seems best suited to the subject matter.

1962 A. A. Lumsdaine in J. E. Coulson Programmed Learning 135 I believe that linear programs should almost invariably be constructed first, even if branching is later to be introduced.

1964 Times Rev. Industry Feb. 100/2 A novel feature is the method it uses—the linear (non-branching) technique of programmed learning.

1969 G. Kent Blackboard to Computer viii. 109 The basis of linear programming is that the subject matter to be understood is always presented to the student in small quantities.

1970 W. K. Richmond Concept Educ. Technol. iii. 103 That the majority of linear programmes are inordinately dull is, of course, a charge which will be strenuously denied by anyone who has laboured to produce one.

1970 W. K. Richmond Concept Educ. Technol. iii. 103 This aseptic dullness is explained by the linear programmer's dependence upon a bird-brained psychology.

a. Resembling a line; very narrow in proportion to its length, and of uniform breadth.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > shape > condition of being long in relation to breadth > linearity > [adjective]

linear1642

linya1807

1642 H. More Ψυχωδια Platonica sig. F6^v [The Soul] Girds the swoln earth with linear list.

1828 J. Stark Elements Nat. Hist. I. 362 Body gray brown, with transverse linear whitish stripes.

1844 G. Bird Urinary Deposits 279 Minute linear bodies hardly so long as the diameter of a blood-corpuscle.

1854 D. Brewster More Worlds xi. 178 These linear nebulæ, which Sir John Herschel thinks are flat ellipsoids seen edgewise.

1885 H. W. Watson & S. H. Burbury Math. Theory Electr. & Magn. I. 218 A conductor, two of whose dimensions are very small compared with the third, as for instance a wire, is called a linear conductor.

1923 C. R. Stockard in Amer. Jrnl. Anat. XXXI. iii. 278 The two groups into which almost all ordinary persons fall more or less exactly may..be termed the Linear Type and the Lateral Type. The linear type is the faster growing high metabolizing thin but not necessarily tall group, while the lateral type is slower in maturing and is stocky and rounder in form.

1932 Field Archæol. (Ordnance Survey) 30 This term ‘Linear Earthwork’ is used to describe earthworks like Wansdyke..and the numerous Grim's Dykes... They consist of a bank and ditch and may be of any length from a few yards..to 10 miles.

1959 Jrnl. Soc. Archit. Historians 18 40/1 Soria..customarily described his Linear City as a vertebrate animal.

1964 J. M. Argyle Psychol. & Social Probl. v. 62 Fewer of the delinquents are of linear (thin and bony) physique.

1966 Guardian 5 Apr. 2/6 A new linear city of half a million people..near Inverness..is the ambition of Professor Robert Grieve.

b. spec. Botany and Zoology. Like a thread, elongated.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > part of plant > part defined by form or function > [adjective] > oblong

oblonga1500

linear1753

oblanceolate1821

the world > life > biology > physical aspects or shapes > shape > [adjective] > pointed, tapering, or elongated

ensiform?1541

acuminate1634

aculeated1657

lanceolated1752

sagittated1752

subacute1752

subulated1752

linear1753

subulate1757

spinous1758

lanceolate1760

sagittate1760

sublinear1761

obverse1776

lanced1787

long-acuminate1804

subuliform1804

lanceolar1810

acuminous1813

virgate1821

spiny1828

apiculate1830

ensate1830

aciculate1831

spiniform1833

fibriform1846

obcuneate1870

fusiform1887

1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. at Leaf Linear Leaf, one the two sides of which run almost parallel to one another.

1777 S. Robson Brit. Flora 15 Linear, everywhere of the same breadth, though sometimes narrowing at the extremities only.

1787 E. Darwin et al. tr. C. Linnaeus et al. Families of Plants I. 2 Anther linear..Stigma linear.

1828 J. Stark Elements Nat. Hist. II. 89 Shell equivalve..; hinge, linear, without teeth.

1851 G. F. Richardson Introd. Geol. (1855) 180 Verticillate fringes of linear leaves growing round the joints.

1851 S. P. Woodward Man. Mollusca i. 106 Muricidæ... Lingual ribbon long, linear.

1870 J. D. Hooker Student's Flora Brit. Islands 225 Campanula rotundifolia,..lower cauline leaves lanceolate, upper narrow linear quite entire.

1874 E. Coues Birds Northwest 430 Two narrowly linear feathers.

1880 A. Gray Struct. Bot. iii. §4 95 Linear, when leaf-blades are narrow, several times longer than wide, and of about the same breadth throughout.

c. Having a (more or less) plain outline; not indented or notched; also said of the outline.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > shape > flatness or levelness > smoothness > [adjective] > without notches or indentations

unnicked?c1480

unjagged1640

unnotched1741

unindented1750

entire1758

unsawed1786

linear1796

toothless1812

unserrated1840

1796 C. Marshall Introd. Knowl. & Pract. Gardening xii. 178 A tree may be regular, without being linear.

1797 Encycl. Brit. III. 444/1 A Margin..entire, linear without the least dent or notch.

5. Surgery. linear extraction (of cataract): see quot. 1890. linear rectotomy: the operation of dividing a strictured urethra through the rectum.

ΚΠ

1874 G. Lawson Dis. Eye (ed. 2) 127 Linear Extraction of Cataract.

1876 T. Bryant Pract. Surg. (ed. 2) I. xvi. 679 M. Verneuil..has advocated the operation of ‘linear rectotomy’ for the cure of stricture.

1890 J. S. Billings National Med. Dict. II Linear extraction, methods of cataract extraction in which the corneal incision approaches to a plane passing through the centre of curvature of the globe.

†B. n.

A linear equation. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > algebra > [noun] > expression > equation > named according to highest power

quadratic equation1647

biquadratic1661

quadratic1674

linear1684

cubic equation1728

linear equation1816

biordinal1876

1684 T. Baker Geom. Key (title page) Of linears, qvadratics, cubics, biqvadratics; And the finding of all their Roots.

Compounds

C1. Chiefly Botany.

a. Signifying ‘linear and…’, ‘between linear and…’.

(a)

Categories »

linear-acute adj.

linear-attenuate adj.

ΚΠ

1847 W. E. Steele Handbk. Field Bot. 9 Hawkweed,..bracts linear-attenuate.

linear-awled adj.

ΚΠ

a1794 W. Jones in Asiatick Researches (1795) 4 269 Leaves linear-awled, pointed, opposite.

linear-elliptical adj.

ΚΠ

1881–2 W. Saville-Kent Man. Infusoria II. 786 Body..linear-elliptical.

Categories »

linear-elongate adj.

linear-ensate adj.

ΚΠ

1836 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Plants (rev. ed.) Gloss. Linear-ensate, long sword-shaped.

linear-filiform adj.

ΚΠ

1839 J. Lindley School Bot. iv. 48 [Alsine] rubra. Leaves linear-filiform, mucronate, somewhat fleshy.

linear-lanceolate adj.

ΚΠ

1793 T. Martyn Lang. Bot. sig. L6^v Lineari-lanceolatum, linear-lanceolate.

linear-ligulate adj.

ΚΠ

1870 J. D. Hooker Student's Flora Brit. Islands 373 Potamogeton... Leaves..linear~ligulate.

linear-oblong adj.

ΚΠ

1839 Johnston in Hist. Berwickshire Naturalists' Club 1 No. 7. 205 Teeth transverse, linear-oblong.

1870 J. D. Hooker Student's Flora Brit. Islands 312 Rumex conglomeratus,..inner fruiting sepals linear-oblong.

linear-obovate adj.

ΚΠ

1845 Florist's Jrnl. 6 89 Styphelia tubiflora... Leaves which are sometimes linear-obovate.

linear-setaceous adj.

ΚΠ

1847 W. E. Steele Handbk. Field Bot. 21 Scales of receptacle linear-setaceous.

linear-spathulate adj.

ΚΠ

1870 J. D. Hooker Student's Flora Brit. Islands 130 Saxifraga Andrewsii... Leaves linear-spathulate.

linear-subulate adj.

ΚΠ

1793 T. Martyn Lang. Bot. sig. L6^v Lineari-subulatum, linear-subulate.

(b)

linear-leaved adj.

ΚΠ

1824 J. C. Loudon Green-house Compan. ii. 20 Pharnaceum lineare, linear-leaved Pharnaceum.

linear-shaped adj.

ΚΠ

1839 C. Darwin in R. Fitzroy & C. Darwin Narr. Surv. Voy. H.M.S. Adventure & Beagle III. vii. 146 The view would resemble that of a great lake, if it were not for the linear-shaped islets.

b. In quasi-Latin form, as lineari-elongate adj., lineari-laciniose adj., lineari-oblong adj.

ΚΠ

1871 W. A. Leighton Lichen-flora 9 Spores 8, oblong or lineari-elongate or cylindrical.

1871 W. A. Leighton Lichen-flora 12 Spores 8, colourless, lineari-oblong or subfusiform.

1871 W. A. Leighton Lichen-flora 18 Fuscous-black, lineari-laciniose, laciniæ ligulate.

C2. Special collocations.

linear accelerator n. (see accelerator n. 6).

ΚΠ

1947 L. W. Alvarez et al. in Science CVI. 506/2 (title) Initial Performance of a 32-Mev Proton Linear Accelerator.

1953 Lancet 17 Oct. 840/2 An 8-million-volt linear accelerator..the first machine of its kind to be built for X-ray therapy.

linear motor n. a motor (esp. an induction motor) which produces motion directly in a straight line (as opposed to rotary motion).

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > motor > [noun] > others

gas motor1855

sun motor1864

servo motor1872

telemotor1880

power pack1937

linear motor1957

1957 E. R. Laithwaite in Proc. Inst. Electr. Engineers 104 A. 461/1 [The word ‘linear’ has already been used in connection with particle accelerators, but as there is little likelihood of confusion between these devices and electric motors, there appears to be no objection to the use of the word for the latter.]

1957 E. R. Laithwaite in Proc. Inst. Electr. Engineers 104 A. 461/1 The use of linear motors as liquid-metal pumps is examined.

1966 Listener 13 Oct. 535/3 British Rail were the first to support Laithwaite's work on the linear motor, and suggested to him in 1960 its possible application to rail traction.

1973 Sci. Amer. Oct. 21/1 The evolution of electromagnetic flight is inextricably linked to the problem of propulsion. Two types of ‘linear motor’ are being studied for this application. One is called the linear induction motor, the other the linear synchronous motor.

linear programming n. a mathematical technique for maximizing or minimizing a linear function (such as output or cost) of several variables (such as resources) when these are required to satisfy a set of linear equations and inequalities; (see also A. 3b above).

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > algebra > [noun] > expression > method of calculation or analysis

extrapolation1872

functional analysis1876

inversion1880

Fourier analysis1929

formalism1940

linear programming1949

quadratic programming1951

simplex method1951

convex programming1963

deconvolution1967

1949 G. B. Dantzig in Econometrica XVII. 203 It is our purpose now to discuss the kinds of restrictions that fit naturally into linear programming.

1953 W. W. Cooper & A. Henderson in W. W. Cooper et al. Introd. Linear Programming i. 1 Linear programming is concerned with the problem of planning a complex of interdependent activities in the best possible (optimal) fashion.

1966 A. Battersby Math. in Managem. iv. 85 Transporting coal to power stations or gasworks, allocating cash to local branches, formulating foods and drawing up a maintenance schedule: these are all areas in which linear programming is at work today.

1967 E. Duckworth in G. Wills & R. Yearsley Handbk. Managem. Technol. vi. 110 When the optimum order quantities have been decided, problems may occur in scheduling these through factories in the optimum manner... Quite complex methods of the linear programming or queueing theory type may be needed.

1971 Sci. Amer. Feb. 84/2 Among the intended tasks for illiac iv is linear programming, a mathematical technique for allocating the use of limited resources to maximize or minimize a specified objective.

1971 Sci. Amer. Feb. 85/2 In order to apply linear programming to an entire economic sector one must incur considerable expense in gathering the data to be used in the model.

Draft additions 1997

a. Of causation, evolution, time, etc.: progressing in a single direction by regular steps or stages, sequential.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > progressive motion > specific manner of progressive motion > [adjective] > step by step > in single direction

linear1948

1948 E. Whittaker Space & Spirit xxxix. 126 In the argument as usually presented..all chains of causation are simple linear sequences.

1954 A. P. Usher Hist. Mech. Inventions (rev. ed.) ii. 30 The cultures of antiquity do not fit the patterns of the linear sequences of social and economic evolution developed by the German Historical Schools.

1972 R. D. Walshe in G. W. Turner Good Austral. Eng. xi. 228 The McLuhan thesis that..‘linear thinking’..had been rendered obsolete by the new ‘in-depth’, ‘all-at-once’ thinking of the electronic media.

1978 P. Matthiessen Snow Leopard i. 56 The Australian aborigines..distinguish between linear time and a ‘Great Time’ of dreams, myths, and heroes, in which all is present in this moment.

1983 P. Lively Perfect Happiness viii. 112 Time, that should be linear, had become formless.

1992 Forum Mod. Lang. Stud. Jan. 22 It is impossible to over-emphasise the importance of the poet's decision to keep the inexorable linear flow of time intact on each occasion when a-temporality is alluded to.

b. Linguistics. Of phonological, morphological, or syntactic elements or their ordering: consisting of a series arranged sequentially; spec. (in Generative Grammar) of a surface structure.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > linguistics > [adjective] > specific types or features of linguistic analysis

paradigmatic1891

realizational1904

non-distinctive1916

principled1919

binary1921

over-differentiated1927

marked1933

unmarked1933

isomorphic1937

nuclear1937

contrastive1940

metalinguistic1941

metalingual1942

componential1947

linear1955

rewrite1960

unordered1960

taxonomic1962

non-binary1971

the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > syntax or word order > [adjective] > relating to deep or surface structure > of surface structure: arranged sequentially

linear1955

1955 N. Chomsky Theory Ling. Struct. (microfilm, Mass. Inst. Technol.) vi. 235 The linear grammar is a sequence of conversion statements S₁,.., S_n where each S_i is of the form ‘X_i→Y_i’.

1959 W. Baskin tr. F. de Saussure Course in Gen. Linguistics ii. v. 123 In discourse..words acquire relations based on the linear nature of language because they are chained together.

1968 J. Lyons Introd. Theoret. Linguistics vi. 209 We..adopted the view that all sentences had a simple linear structure.

1969 Canad. Jrnl. Linguistics 15 25 It was speculated..that the reason that languages had embedding transformations..was to ‘linearize’ or spread out in linear form the deeply embedded concoctions which the human mind can produce.

1982 Canad. Jrnl. Linguistics 27 74 Werth observes that it is possible to eliminate linear order in the base... If there is no linear order in the base, then grammatical relations must be marked in the base.

1991 Appl. Linguistics 12 189 It is based ultimately on a pre-Chomskyan linear model of language production.

Draft additions 1997

linear algebra n. Mathematics a finite-dimensional vector space, with multiplication defined and distributive over addition, in which (λa)b = λ(ab) = a(λb) for any scalar λ of the associated field and any vectors a and b; also, the branch of algebra which deals with the properties of these entities, esp. of vector spaces over the real or complex numbers.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > algebra > [noun] > branch or subset of

quadratic1674

tactic1861

linear algebra1870

group theory1888

subalgebra1903

Clifford algebra1907

the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > tensor > [noun] > vector > vector space

linear algebra1870

Lie algebra1935

vector space1937

1870 B. Peirce in Amer. Jrnl. Math. (1881) 4 107 An algebra in which every expression is reducible to the form of an algebraic sum of terms, each of which consists of a single letter with a quantitative coefficient, is called a linear algebra.

1945 E. T. Bell Devel. Math. (ed. 2) x. 231 The introduction of general methods into linear algebra, beginning in the first decade of the twentieth century, prepared that vast field of mathematics..for partial arithmetization in the second and third decades.

1965 E. M. Patterson & D. E. Rutherford Elem. Abstr. Algebra v. 187 The set of all m × m matrices over a field F forms a linear algebra of dimension m².

1975 I. Stewart Concepts Mod. Math. xv. 227 A proper understanding of linear algebra requires a synthesis of three points of view: (i) the underlying geometrical motivation, (ii) the abstract algebraic formulation, (iii) the matrix-theoretic technique.

1986 C. W. Norman Undergraduate Algebra p. vii Many of the problems which linear algebra sets out to solve are dealt with in a practical way by the row-reduction algorithm in Chapter 8.

Draft additions 1997

linear search n. Computing a search in which items stored in a file are examined sequentially.

ΘΚΠ

society > computing and information technology > data > database > [noun] > access or retrieval > searching > types of

online search1962

global search1966

linear search1968

1968 Communications ACM 11 36/1 It has been noticed..that the linear search process itself produces clustering and is therefore intrinsically slow.

1970 Communications ACM 13 103/2 The simplest search is the linear search in which the search progresses by a multiple of an increment m, e.g. k + 1m, k + 2m,.., etc.

1987 Austral. Personal Computer Aug. 224/1 Linear search takes, on average, N/2 operations to find an item and N operations to discover that an item is not on the list.

Draft additions December 2021

linear economy n. an economic system or process in which the materials involved in production, or the products themselves, are ultimately disposed of as waste without being recycled, reused, or regenerated; cf. circular economy n.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > management of money > management of national resources > [noun] > political economy > types of economic system

free market1642

peasant economy1883

agriculturism1885

money economy1888

price system1889

external economy1890

peace economy1905

war economy1919

planned economy1924

market economy1929

circular economy1932

managed economy1932

mixed economy1936

market socialism1939

plural economy1939

market capitalism1949

external diseconomy1952

siege economy1962

knowledge economy1967

linear economy1968

EMU1969

wage economy1971

grey economy1977

EMS1978

enterprise culture1979

new economy1981

tiger1981

share economy1983

gig economy2009

1968 M. L. Burstein Econ. Theory v. 126 There is a dualistic, market-orientated approach to the ‘value’ properties of a competitively-organized linear economy.

1971 Sci. Amer. Feb. 51/1 Any effort to bring about a rapid change from linear economies to looped economies will encounter the massive economic, social and political forces that sustain the present system.

2016 Business Wire (Nexis) 22 Mar. The world must move from a linear economy model of ‘take, make and dispose’ of raw materials including water, to a circular approach.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	linear
释义	linearadj.n. Brit. /ˈlɪnɪə/, U.S. /ˈlɪniər/ Etymology: < Latin līneāris, < līnea line n.¹ Compare French linéaire. A. adj. 1. Of or pertaining to a line or lines. linear perspective n. that branch of perspective which is concerned with the apparent form, magnitude, and position of visual objects, as distinguished from aerial perspective (see aerial adj. 2). ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > geometry > line > [adjective] linear1656 the world > space > shape > condition of being long in relation to breadth > linearity > [adjective] > relating to or characterized by linear quality linear1656 lineal1792 linearistic1908 the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > longitudinal extent > [adjective] > having (more or less) length > and no breadth or thickness > of or relating to linear1656 the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > [noun] > perspective > linear perspective lineal perspective1797 linear perspective1841 1656 T. Blount Glossographia Linear, pertaining to a line, lineal. 1841 W. Spalding Italy & Ital. Islands I. 192 When backgrounds were introduced, they were ill-executed, the linear-perspective being nowhere accurately observed. 1865 Pall Mall Gaz. 11 Nov. 9 That linear hardness which never appears in nature. 1869 J. Martineau Ess. Philos. & Theol. 2nd Ser. 63 The general rules of linear perspective. 1878 H. P. Gurney Crystallogr. 29 This difference between models and crystals must be remembered. The former have linear symmetry. 2. a. Consisting of lines; involving the use of lines. ΘΚΠ society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > drawing lines > [adjective] > consisting of lines lineary1551 lineal1624 linear1830 1840 D. Lardner Treat. Geom. ix. 93 The..extent of space included within the linear boundaries of any figure is called its area. 1884 J. Ruskin Pleasures of Eng. 21 The Celts developing peculiar gifts in linear design, but wholly incapable of drawing animals and figures. 1900 Contemp. Rev. Dec. 796 Two systems of writing, pictographic and linear, did, indeed, exist in the early Aegean world. figurative.1830 T. Carlyle in Fraser's Mag. Nov. 415/2 Narrative is linear, Action is solid. b. Linear A n. the earlier of two related forms of writing discovered at Knossos in Crete by Sir A. J. Evans between 1894 and 1901. Linear B n. the later form, found also on the mainland of Greece, and now shown to be a syllabary imperfectly adapted to the writing of Mycenæan Greek. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > system of writing > [noun] > of specific languages > Linear A or Linear B Linear A1948 Linear B1950 society > communication > writing > system of writing > [adjective] > of specific languages > Linear A or Linear B Linear A1948 Linear B1950 1904 A. J. Evans in Ann. Brit. School Athens 1902–3 9 52 This early system of linear script—which may be conveniently termed Class A as opposed to Class B of the latest Palace Period at Knossos—had a wide extension in the island.] 1907 R. M. Burrows Discov. in Crete vi. 84 The linear writing of class A is now in regular use. 1907 R. M. Burrows Discov. in Crete vi. 92 The hoard of clay tablets..shows that its linear writing, called by Mr. Evans Class B, is more advanced. 1909 A. J. Evans Scripta Minoa I. i. v. 31 Documents belonging to the Linear Class A only occur in this particular stratum... In deposits clearly belonging to the remodelled building the inscribed documents all belonged to Class B. 1909 A. J. Evans Scripta Minoa I. i. v. 35 Common to both the linear scripts A and B. 1909 A. J. Evans Scripta Minoa I. i. v. 36 The system of numerals..of the Linear Class B. 1948 A. E. Kober in Amer. Jrnl. Archaeol. 52 89 Inscriptions of Linear A have been found at several sites. 1950 E. L. Bennett in Amer. Jrnl. Archaeol. 54 81/1 Translations of and commentary upon additional Linear-B tablets from Knossos. 1950 E. L. Bennett in Amer. Jrnl. Archaeol. 54 204/1 The Linear A flourished in the rest of Crete.., and the Linear B at Knossos only. 1950 E. L. Bennett in Amer. Jrnl. Archaeol. 54 218/2 The Linear A ideogram L85 appears to have..the same form. 1950 E. L. Bennett in Amer. Jrnl. Archaeol. 54 219/1 The shapes of four other signs of Linear A..are reflected in the Linear B signs. 1952 J. L. Myres Evans' Scripta Minoa II. 1 In this new ‘Linear A’ script about one-third of the signs are derived from linearized hieroglyphs. 1952 J. L. Myres Evans' Scripta Minoa II. 2 It was doubtless..local unconformity that provoked the drastic reform of the ‘Linear B’ script at Knossos. 1953 M. Ventris & J. Chadwick in Jrnl. Hellenic Stud. 73 84 Evans believed that Linear B..was an administrative revision of Linear A, designed to express the same ‘Aegean’ language. 1966 C. H. Gordon Evidence for Minoan Lang. ix. 32 The Linear A and B texts overlap in time. 1972 Sci. Amer. Oct. 37/1 The Cretan system of writing, which we call Linear A, was crude but it was adequate for keeping rough accounts. c. Music. = horizontal adj. 4. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > melody or succession of sounds > [adjective] melodial?1590 systaltic1694 melodic1823 horizontal1886 linear1944 1944 W. Apel Harvard Dict. Music 409/1 Linear counterpoint, a term introduced by E. Kurth..in order to emphasize the ‘linear’, i.e., horizontal aspect of counterpoint... The term is also used..for what the Germans call rücksichtsloser (reckless) Kontrapunkt, i.e., the modern type of counterpoint which pays little attention to harmonic combination and euphony. 1955 L. Feather Encycl. Jazz ii. 53 Similarly ‘horizontal’ or ‘linear’ refers to the relationship of the notes or chords as they are played one after the other, read horizontally across the manuscript. 1958 A. Jacobs New Dict. Music 211 Linear counterpoint, term—senseless, because all counterpoint is a matter of lines—sometimes used for a type of 20th-century counterpoint (e.g. Stravinsky's) held to be musically valid through the value of the separate lines themselves. 1959 Listener 8 Jan. 80/2 In the slow movement the orchestral texture begins in linear style, spare and canonic. 1962 Listener 18 Jan. 147/1 Linear and rhythmic techniques suggested by medieval music. 1962 Listener 18 Jan. 147/2 A conscious employment of linear and metrical ‘series’ derived from Indian ragas and talas. 3. a. Having the direction of a line; extended in a line or in length; spec. in Mathematics and Physics involving measurement in one dimension only; capable of being represented by a straight line on a graph (in Cartesian co-ordinates); involving or possessing the property that a change in one quantity is accompanied by or corresponds to a directly proportional change in a related one. linear equation, an equation of the first degree. linear numbers, linear problem (see quots. 1706¹, 1706²). ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > [adjective] running1663 lineal1705 linear1706 the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [noun] > particular qualities > relating only to length lineal numbera1398 linear numbers1706 the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > longitudinal extent > [adjective] > having (more or less) length > and no breadth or thickness lineary1551 breadthless1642 running1663 lineal1705 linear1706 the world > relative properties > number > algebra > [noun] > expression > equation > named according to highest power quadratic equation1647 biquadratic1661 quadratic1674 linear1684 cubic equation1728 linear equation1816 biordinal1876 the world > relative properties > number > graph or diagram > [adjective] > of a graph reconcilable1873 smoothed1888 linear1910 J-shaped1911 nomographic1915 smooth1929 complete1935 spanning1956 reachable1959 embeddable1961 1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Linear Numbers, are those that have relation to Length only: For Example, such as represent one Side of a plane Figure; and if the Figure be a Square, the Linear Number is call'd a Root. 1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Linear Problem (in Mathem.), such a Problem as can be solved Geometrically, by the Intersection..of two Right~lines. 1799 J. Wood Elem. Optics (1811) iv. 83 This line is called the diameter, or linear aperture of the lens. 1806 C. Hutton Course Math. (ed. 5) I. 340 Similar Prisms and Cylinders are to each other, as the Cubes of their Altitudes, or of any other Like Linear Dimensions. 1812 J. Playfair Outl. Nat. Philos. I. 192 The superficial breadth of the stream, expressed in linear inches. 1816 tr. S. F. Lacroix Elem. Treat. Differential & Integral Calculus 326 We call it from thence, a linear equation of the first order. 1830 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. I. 314 Active volcanic vents..arranged in a linear direction. 1831 D. Brewster Treat. Optics xli. 336 The linear magnifying power is the number of times an object is magnified in length. 1867 E. B. Denison Astron. without Math. (ed. 3) 71 The resistance does diminish the actual or linear speed. 1872 H. A. Nicholson Man. Palæontol. 44 It is possible to arrange the animals of any one sub-kingdom in something like a linear series. 1882 G. M. Minchin Uniplanar Kinematics 6 A point P moves in a circle with constant linear velocity. 1882 G. M. Minchin Uniplanar Kinematics 123 So that (ξ, η) are also linear functions of (ξ′, η′); and if the first satisfy a linear equation..so must the second. 1910 Encycl. Brit. IX. 146/2 The limiting tension beyond which the above law of proportionality [between tension and extension] fails to hold is often called the ‘limit of linear elasticity’. 1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 503/1 Linear amplification, amplification in which the output current or voltage is strictly proportional to the input voltage. 1941 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 177 382 The disintegration of boron by slow neutrons has been investigated using an ionization chamber filled with boron trichloride in conjunction with a linear amplifier. 1942 Electronic Engin. 14 711/1 The conversion must be accomplished in a linear manner, i.e., the amplitude change is directly proportional to the frequency change. 1962 D. F. Shaw Introd. Electronics vii. 126 The preservation of the shape is a unique property of the sine wave and..is a feature which it possesses for all linear circuits. 1962 D. F. Shaw Introd. Electronics viii. 147 A circuit is linear if the individual components behave in such a manner that the amplitude of the current through each component is directly proportional to the amplitude of the applied voltage and the relationship between the phases of the voltage and current is independent of the current and voltage magnitude. 1973 Physics Bull. Oct. 606/1 A linearizer circuit is used to ensure a true linear relationship between conveyor load and indicated reading. b. Education. Designating or pertaining to programmed learning aimed at step-by-step progress in which the material is broken down into small steps each of which must elicit a correct response before the next one is presented; frequently contrasted with branching methods.For linear programming in a different sense see Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ society > education > learning > [adjective] > types of learning kennetic1950 linear1958 sleep-learn1968 1958 B. F. Skinner in Science 24 Oct. 974/2 A first step is to define the field. A second is to collect technical terms, facts, laws, principles, and cases. These must then be arranged in a plausible developmental order—linear if possible, branching if necessary. 1961 Barron's National Business & Financial Weekly 30 Oct. 14/2 We are disciples of neither Crowder nor Skinner. Our programs will make use of either branching or linear techniques, depending on which seems best suited to the subject matter. 1962 A. A. Lumsdaine in J. E. Coulson Programmed Learning 135 I believe that linear programs should almost invariably be constructed first, even if branching is later to be introduced. 1964 Times Rev. Industry Feb. 100/2 A novel feature is the method it uses—the linear (non-branching) technique of programmed learning. 1969 G. Kent Blackboard to Computer viii. 109 The basis of linear programming is that the subject matter to be understood is always presented to the student in small quantities. 1970 W. K. Richmond Concept Educ. Technol. iii. 103 That the majority of linear programmes are inordinately dull is, of course, a charge which will be strenuously denied by anyone who has laboured to produce one. 1970 W. K. Richmond Concept Educ. Technol. iii. 103 This aseptic dullness is explained by the linear programmer's dependence upon a bird-brained psychology. 4. a. Resembling a line; very narrow in proportion to its length, and of uniform breadth. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > condition of being long in relation to breadth > linearity > [adjective] linear1642 linya1807 1642 H. More Ψυχωδια Platonica sig. F6^v [The Soul] Girds the swoln earth with linear list. 1828 J. Stark Elements Nat. Hist. I. 362 Body gray brown, with transverse linear whitish stripes. 1844 G. Bird Urinary Deposits 279 Minute linear bodies hardly so long as the diameter of a blood-corpuscle. 1854 D. Brewster More Worlds xi. 178 These linear nebulæ, which Sir John Herschel thinks are flat ellipsoids seen edgewise. 1885 H. W. Watson & S. H. Burbury Math. Theory Electr. & Magn. I. 218 A conductor, two of whose dimensions are very small compared with the third, as for instance a wire, is called a linear conductor. 1923 C. R. Stockard in Amer. Jrnl. Anat. XXXI. iii. 278 The two groups into which almost all ordinary persons fall more or less exactly may..be termed the Linear Type and the Lateral Type. The linear type is the faster growing high metabolizing thin but not necessarily tall group, while the lateral type is slower in maturing and is stocky and rounder in form. 1932 Field Archæol. (Ordnance Survey) 30 This term ‘Linear Earthwork’ is used to describe earthworks like Wansdyke..and the numerous Grim's Dykes... They consist of a bank and ditch and may be of any length from a few yards..to 10 miles. 1959 Jrnl. Soc. Archit. Historians 18 40/1 Soria..customarily described his Linear City as a vertebrate animal. 1964 J. M. Argyle Psychol. & Social Probl. v. 62 Fewer of the delinquents are of linear (thin and bony) physique. 1966 Guardian 5 Apr. 2/6 A new linear city of half a million people..near Inverness..is the ambition of Professor Robert Grieve. b. spec. Botany and Zoology. Like a thread, elongated. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > part of plant > part defined by form or function > [adjective] > oblong oblonga1500 linear1753 oblanceolate1821 the world > life > biology > physical aspects or shapes > shape > [adjective] > pointed, tapering, or elongated ensiform?1541 acuminate1634 aculeated1657 lanceolated1752 sagittated1752 subacute1752 subulated1752 linear1753 subulate1757 spinous1758 lanceolate1760 sagittate1760 sublinear1761 obverse1776 lanced1787 long-acuminate1804 subuliform1804 lanceolar1810 acuminous1813 virgate1821 spiny1828 apiculate1830 ensate1830 aciculate1831 spiniform1833 fibriform1846 obcuneate1870 fusiform1887 1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. at Leaf Linear Leaf, one the two sides of which run almost parallel to one another. 1777 S. Robson Brit. Flora 15 Linear, everywhere of the same breadth, though sometimes narrowing at the extremities only. 1787 E. Darwin et al. tr. C. Linnaeus et al. Families of Plants I. 2 Anther linear..Stigma linear. 1828 J. Stark Elements Nat. Hist. II. 89 Shell equivalve..; hinge, linear, without teeth. 1851 G. F. Richardson Introd. Geol. (1855) 180 Verticillate fringes of linear leaves growing round the joints. 1851 S. P. Woodward Man. Mollusca i. 106 Muricidæ... Lingual ribbon long, linear. 1870 J. D. Hooker Student's Flora Brit. Islands 225 Campanula rotundifolia,..lower cauline leaves lanceolate, upper narrow linear quite entire. 1874 E. Coues Birds Northwest 430 Two narrowly linear feathers. 1880 A. Gray Struct. Bot. iii. §4 95 Linear, when leaf-blades are narrow, several times longer than wide, and of about the same breadth throughout. c. Having a (more or less) plain outline; not indented or notched; also said of the outline. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > flatness or levelness > smoothness > [adjective] > without notches or indentations unnicked?c1480 unjagged1640 unnotched1741 unindented1750 entire1758 unsawed1786 linear1796 toothless1812 unserrated1840 1796 C. Marshall Introd. Knowl. & Pract. Gardening xii. 178 A tree may be regular, without being linear. 1797 Encycl. Brit. III. 444/1 A Margin..entire, linear without the least dent or notch. 5. Surgery. linear extraction (of cataract): see quot. 1890. linear rectotomy: the operation of dividing a strictured urethra through the rectum. ΚΠ 1874 G. Lawson Dis. Eye (ed. 2) 127 Linear Extraction of Cataract. 1876 T. Bryant Pract. Surg. (ed. 2) I. xvi. 679 M. Verneuil..has advocated the operation of ‘linear rectotomy’ for the cure of stricture. 1890 J. S. Billings National Med. Dict. II Linear extraction, methods of cataract extraction in which the corneal incision approaches to a plane passing through the centre of curvature of the globe. †B. n. A linear equation. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > algebra > [noun] > expression > equation > named according to highest power quadratic equation1647 biquadratic1661 quadratic1674 linear1684 cubic equation1728 linear equation1816 biordinal1876 1684 T. Baker Geom. Key (title page) Of linears, qvadratics, cubics, biqvadratics; And the finding of all their Roots. Compounds C1. Chiefly Botany. a. Signifying ‘linear and…’, ‘between linear and…’. (a) Categories » linear-acute adj. linear-attenuate adj. ΚΠ 1847 W. E. Steele Handbk. Field Bot. 9 Hawkweed,..bracts linear-attenuate. linear-awled adj. ΚΠ a1794 W. Jones in Asiatick Researches (1795) 4 269 Leaves linear-awled, pointed, opposite. linear-elliptical adj. ΚΠ 1881–2 W. Saville-Kent Man. Infusoria II. 786 Body..linear-elliptical. Categories » linear-elongate adj. linear-ensate adj. ΚΠ 1836 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Plants (rev. ed.) Gloss. Linear-ensate, long sword-shaped. linear-filiform adj. ΚΠ 1839 J. Lindley School Bot. iv. 48 [Alsine] rubra. Leaves linear-filiform, mucronate, somewhat fleshy. linear-lanceolate adj. ΚΠ 1793 T. Martyn Lang. Bot. sig. L6^v Lineari-lanceolatum, linear-lanceolate. linear-ligulate adj. ΚΠ 1870 J. D. Hooker Student's Flora Brit. Islands 373 Potamogeton... Leaves..linear~ligulate. linear-oblong adj. ΚΠ 1839 Johnston in Hist. Berwickshire Naturalists' Club 1 No. 7. 205 Teeth transverse, linear-oblong. 1870 J. D. Hooker Student's Flora Brit. Islands 312 Rumex conglomeratus,..inner fruiting sepals linear-oblong. linear-obovate adj. ΚΠ 1845 Florist's Jrnl. 6 89 Styphelia tubiflora... Leaves which are sometimes linear-obovate. linear-setaceous adj. ΚΠ 1847 W. E. Steele Handbk. Field Bot. 21 Scales of receptacle linear-setaceous. linear-spathulate adj. ΚΠ 1870 J. D. Hooker Student's Flora Brit. Islands 130 Saxifraga Andrewsii... Leaves linear-spathulate. linear-subulate adj. ΚΠ 1793 T. Martyn Lang. Bot. sig. L6^v Lineari-subulatum, linear-subulate. (b) linear-leaved adj. ΚΠ 1824 J. C. Loudon Green-house Compan. ii. 20 Pharnaceum lineare, linear-leaved Pharnaceum. linear-shaped adj. ΚΠ 1839 C. Darwin in R. Fitzroy & C. Darwin Narr. Surv. Voy. H.M.S. Adventure & Beagle III. vii. 146 The view would resemble that of a great lake, if it were not for the linear-shaped islets. b. In quasi-Latin form, as lineari-elongate adj., lineari-laciniose adj., lineari-oblong adj. ΚΠ 1871 W. A. Leighton Lichen-flora 9 Spores 8, oblong or lineari-elongate or cylindrical. 1871 W. A. Leighton Lichen-flora 12 Spores 8, colourless, lineari-oblong or subfusiform. 1871 W. A. Leighton Lichen-flora 18 Fuscous-black, lineari-laciniose, laciniæ ligulate. C2. Special collocations. linear accelerator n. (see accelerator n. 6). ΚΠ 1947 L. W. Alvarez et al. in Science CVI. 506/2 (title) Initial Performance of a 32-Mev Proton Linear Accelerator. 1953 Lancet 17 Oct. 840/2 An 8-million-volt linear accelerator..the first machine of its kind to be built for X-ray therapy. linear motor n. a motor (esp. an induction motor) which produces motion directly in a straight line (as opposed to rotary motion). ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > motor > [noun] > others gas motor1855 sun motor1864 servo motor1872 telemotor1880 power pack1937 linear motor1957 1957 E. R. Laithwaite in Proc. Inst. Electr. Engineers 104 A. 461/1 [The word ‘linear’ has already been used in connection with particle accelerators, but as there is little likelihood of confusion between these devices and electric motors, there appears to be no objection to the use of the word for the latter.] 1957 E. R. Laithwaite in Proc. Inst. Electr. Engineers 104 A. 461/1 The use of linear motors as liquid-metal pumps is examined. 1966 Listener 13 Oct. 535/3 British Rail were the first to support Laithwaite's work on the linear motor, and suggested to him in 1960 its possible application to rail traction. 1973 Sci. Amer. Oct. 21/1 The evolution of electromagnetic flight is inextricably linked to the problem of propulsion. Two types of ‘linear motor’ are being studied for this application. One is called the linear induction motor, the other the linear synchronous motor. linear programming n. a mathematical technique for maximizing or minimizing a linear function (such as output or cost) of several variables (such as resources) when these are required to satisfy a set of linear equations and inequalities; (see also A. 3b above). ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > algebra > [noun] > expression > method of calculation or analysis extrapolation1872 functional analysis1876 inversion1880 Fourier analysis1929 formalism1940 linear programming1949 quadratic programming1951 simplex method1951 convex programming1963 deconvolution1967 1949 G. B. Dantzig in Econometrica XVII. 203 It is our purpose now to discuss the kinds of restrictions that fit naturally into linear programming. 1953 W. W. Cooper & A. Henderson in W. W. Cooper et al. Introd. Linear Programming i. 1 Linear programming is concerned with the problem of planning a complex of interdependent activities in the best possible (optimal) fashion. 1966 A. Battersby Math. in Managem. iv. 85 Transporting coal to power stations or gasworks, allocating cash to local branches, formulating foods and drawing up a maintenance schedule: these are all areas in which linear programming is at work today. 1967 E. Duckworth in G. Wills & R. Yearsley Handbk. Managem. Technol. vi. 110 When the optimum order quantities have been decided, problems may occur in scheduling these through factories in the optimum manner... Quite complex methods of the linear programming or queueing theory type may be needed. 1971 Sci. Amer. Feb. 84/2 Among the intended tasks for illiac iv is linear programming, a mathematical technique for allocating the use of limited resources to maximize or minimize a specified objective. 1971 Sci. Amer. Feb. 85/2 In order to apply linear programming to an entire economic sector one must incur considerable expense in gathering the data to be used in the model. Draft additions 1997 a. Of causation, evolution, time, etc.: progressing in a single direction by regular steps or stages, sequential. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > progressive motion > specific manner of progressive motion > [adjective] > step by step > in single direction linear1948 1948 E. Whittaker Space & Spirit xxxix. 126 In the argument as usually presented..all chains of causation are simple linear sequences. 1954 A. P. Usher Hist. Mech. Inventions (rev. ed.) ii. 30 The cultures of antiquity do not fit the patterns of the linear sequences of social and economic evolution developed by the German Historical Schools. 1972 R. D. Walshe in G. W. Turner Good Austral. Eng. xi. 228 The McLuhan thesis that..‘linear thinking’..had been rendered obsolete by the new ‘in-depth’, ‘all-at-once’ thinking of the electronic media. 1978 P. Matthiessen Snow Leopard i. 56 The Australian aborigines..distinguish between linear time and a ‘Great Time’ of dreams, myths, and heroes, in which all is present in this moment. 1983 P. Lively Perfect Happiness viii. 112 Time, that should be linear, had become formless. 1992 Forum Mod. Lang. Stud. Jan. 22 It is impossible to over-emphasise the importance of the poet's decision to keep the inexorable linear flow of time intact on each occasion when a-temporality is alluded to. b. Linguistics. Of phonological, morphological, or syntactic elements or their ordering: consisting of a series arranged sequentially; spec. (in Generative Grammar) of a surface structure. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > linguistics > [adjective] > specific types or features of linguistic analysis paradigmatic1891 realizational1904 non-distinctive1916 principled1919 binary1921 over-differentiated1927 marked1933 unmarked1933 isomorphic1937 nuclear1937 contrastive1940 metalinguistic1941 metalingual1942 componential1947 linear1955 rewrite1960 unordered1960 taxonomic1962 non-binary1971 the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > syntax or word order > [adjective] > relating to deep or surface structure > of surface structure: arranged sequentially linear1955 1955 N. Chomsky Theory Ling. Struct. (microfilm, Mass. Inst. Technol.) vi. 235 The linear grammar is a sequence of conversion statements S₁,.., S_n where each S_i is of the form ‘X_i→Y_i’. 1959 W. Baskin tr. F. de Saussure Course in Gen. Linguistics ii. v. 123 In discourse..words acquire relations based on the linear nature of language because they are chained together. 1968 J. Lyons Introd. Theoret. Linguistics vi. 209 We..adopted the view that all sentences had a simple linear structure. 1969 Canad. Jrnl. Linguistics 15 25 It was speculated..that the reason that languages had embedding transformations..was to ‘linearize’ or spread out in linear form the deeply embedded concoctions which the human mind can produce. 1982 Canad. Jrnl. Linguistics 27 74 Werth observes that it is possible to eliminate linear order in the base... If there is no linear order in the base, then grammatical relations must be marked in the base. 1991 Appl. Linguistics 12 189 It is based ultimately on a pre-Chomskyan linear model of language production. Draft additions 1997 linear algebra n. Mathematics a finite-dimensional vector space, with multiplication defined and distributive over addition, in which (λa)b = λ(ab) = a(λb) for any scalar λ of the associated field and any vectors a and b; also, the branch of algebra which deals with the properties of these entities, esp. of vector spaces over the real or complex numbers. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > algebra > [noun] > branch or subset of quadratic1674 tactic1861 linear algebra1870 group theory1888 subalgebra1903 Clifford algebra1907 the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > tensor > [noun] > vector > vector space linear algebra1870 Lie algebra1935 vector space1937 1870 B. Peirce in Amer. Jrnl. Math. (1881) 4 107 An algebra in which every expression is reducible to the form of an algebraic sum of terms, each of which consists of a single letter with a quantitative coefficient, is called a linear algebra. 1945 E. T. Bell Devel. Math. (ed. 2) x. 231 The introduction of general methods into linear algebra, beginning in the first decade of the twentieth century, prepared that vast field of mathematics..for partial arithmetization in the second and third decades. 1965 E. M. Patterson & D. E. Rutherford Elem. Abstr. Algebra v. 187 The set of all m × m matrices over a field F forms a linear algebra of dimension m². 1975 I. Stewart Concepts Mod. Math. xv. 227 A proper understanding of linear algebra requires a synthesis of three points of view: (i) the underlying geometrical motivation, (ii) the abstract algebraic formulation, (iii) the matrix-theoretic technique. 1986 C. W. Norman Undergraduate Algebra p. vii Many of the problems which linear algebra sets out to solve are dealt with in a practical way by the row-reduction algorithm in Chapter 8. Draft additions 1997 linear search n. Computing a search in which items stored in a file are examined sequentially. ΘΚΠ society > computing and information technology > data > database > [noun] > access or retrieval > searching > types of online search1962 global search1966 linear search1968 1968 Communications ACM 11 36/1 It has been noticed..that the linear search process itself produces clustering and is therefore intrinsically slow. 1970 Communications ACM 13 103/2 The simplest search is the linear search in which the search progresses by a multiple of an increment m, e.g. k + 1m, k + 2m,.., etc. 1987 Austral. Personal Computer Aug. 224/1 Linear search takes, on average, N/2 operations to find an item and N operations to discover that an item is not on the list. Draft additions December 2021 linear economy n. an economic system or process in which the materials involved in production, or the products themselves, are ultimately disposed of as waste without being recycled, reused, or regenerated; cf. circular economy n. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > management of money > management of national resources > [noun] > political economy > types of economic system free market1642 peasant economy1883 agriculturism1885 money economy1888 price system1889 external economy1890 peace economy1905 war economy1919 planned economy1924 market economy1929 circular economy1932 managed economy1932 mixed economy1936 market socialism1939 plural economy1939 market capitalism1949 external diseconomy1952 siege economy1962 knowledge economy1967 linear economy1968 EMU1969 wage economy1971 grey economy1977 EMS1978 enterprise culture1979 new economy1981 tiger1981 share economy1983 gig economy2009 1968 M. L. Burstein Econ. Theory v. 126 There is a dualistic, market-orientated approach to the ‘value’ properties of a competitively-organized linear economy. 1971 Sci. Amer. Feb. 51/1 Any effort to bring about a rapid change from linear economies to looped economies will encounter the massive economic, social and political forces that sustain the present system. 2016 Business Wire (Nexis) 22 Mar. The world must move from a linear economy model of ‘take, make and dispose’ of raw materials including water, to a circular approach. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < adj.n.1642
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