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单词 line
释义

linen.1

Brit. /lʌɪn/, U.S. /laɪn/
Forms: Old English lín, Middle English lynne, Middle English–1500s lyn, Middle English–1600s lyne, Middle English–1600s, 1700s–1800s dialect lin, 1500s–1600s linne, Middle English– line.
Etymology: Old English lín neuter = Old Saxon lîn (Dutch lijn in combination), Old High German lîn (Middle High German lîn , modern German lein- in combination), Old Norse lín (Swedish lin ), Gothic lein < Common Germanic type *lînom , < or cognate with Latin līnum flax (whence French lin ), cognate with Greek λίνον ( ), and perhaps with λῑτί dative, λῖτα accusative, linen cloth. The modern dialect form lin (with the antecedent lynne , linne ) is apparently a back-formation from compounds like lincloth n., linseed n.
Now chiefly dialect.
1. = flax n.
a. The fibre of flax. Obsolete except as in 1b.In the 16–17th centuries asbestos was often described as a kind of ‘line’ or flax (cf. linen n. 1c, Latin linum indicum, linum fossile).
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > flax, hemp, or jute > [noun]
linec975
hempc1300
flaxc1325
jute1746
c975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. xii. 20 Hread þæt wagende ne to breceþ & lin smikende ne adwæscet.
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 539 The bondes..weren of ful strong line.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xi. 49 Þat ressayued þe messangers of Israel..and feled þam in hir hous amang towe of lyne.
?a1500 Nominale (Yale Beinecke 594) in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 795/18 Hoc asperum, a stryke of lyne.
1548 T. Cooper Bibliotheca Eliotæ (rev. ed.) Asbestinum, a kynde of lyne which can not be burned.
1548 T. Cooper Bibliotheca Eliotæ (rev. ed.) Linum, lyne or flaxe.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Lin, line, flax. Lin vif, a Kind of Indian line, or linnen, which the fire purifies, but consumes not.
1659 C. Hoole tr. J. A. Comenius Visible World (1672) 121 Line and Hemp, being rated in water and dried again, are braked with a wooden Brake.
b. In modern technical use, flax of a fine and long staple, which has been separated by the hackle from the tow. Occasionally applied to the similar fibre of other plants.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > treated or processed textiles > [noun] > flax, hemp, or jute > heckled > finest parts
tear1541
tire1601
line1835
1835 A. Ure Philos. Manuf. 215 The heckled flax, called line, when freed from the tow, is carried away to be sorted.
1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. I. 198 China grass..half-bleached and full-bleached line from this grass.
1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. II. 278 The long fibres called line, which remains in the hand of the heckler.
c. The plant itself.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > yielding fibre, thatching, or basket material > [noun] > flax plants
flaxc1000
linseedc1000
linec1420
lint1458
wild flax1878–86
c1420 Pallad. on Husb. xii. 28 Now lyne and puls is sowe.
a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Preaching of Swallow l. 1825 in Poems (1981) 71 The lint ryipit, the carll pullit the lyne.
1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. E.iv Linum is called in englishe Flax, lyne or lynte.
1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique i. x. 50 In August he shall pull his line and hempe.
1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 1289 The herbe Line..furnisheth us wherewith to make a simple, plaine, and slender vestment.
1839 W. B. Stonehouse Hist. Isle of Axholme 28 Fields of hemp are now no longer to be seen; but line or flax is still grown.
2.
a. Flax spun or woven; linen thread or cloth. †Also, a napkin of linen; and in plural linen vestments.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > thread or yarn > [noun] > made from flax, hemp, or jute > linen
linea700
Bruges thread1473
inkle1545
outnal1545
spinal16..
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [noun] > made from specific material > flax or hemp > linen
linea700
linenc1330
lingerie1835
snowy1877
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > made from flax, hemp, or jute > [noun] > linen
linea700
flaxc897
linclothc1290
linen1362
flaxen1520
a700 Epinal Gl. 634 Manitergium, liin [a800 Corpus Gl. 1270 lin].
c975 Rushw. Gosp. John xx. 6 Simon petrus..ineode in ða byrgenne & gesæh ða lin gisetedo.
c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 163 Þe haued line sward, and hire winpel wit.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 11112 He..wered noþer wol ne line.
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 730 [He] solde alle his goud boþe wolen and lynne.
c1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 82 A fair towaille of lyn.
a1475 Liber Cocorum (Sloane) (1862) 30 Fars hit þurghe a clothe of lyne.
1558 Act 1 Eliz. c. 17 §1 No person..withe any Devise or Engyne made of Heere, Wooll, Lyne or Canvas..shall take and kyll..Spawne or Frye of Eeles, Salmon, Pyke or Pyckerell.
1591 E. Spenser Muiopotmos in Complaints sig. X Nor anie weauer, which his worke doth boast In dieper, in damaske, or in lyne.
?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads ii. 459 Little he was, and euer wore a breastplate made of linne.
1631 in J. Barmby Churchwardens' Accts. Pittington (1888) 299 Ten yeardes of line for a sirptcloth.
a1642 H. Best Farming & Memorandum Bks. (1984) 111 The kindes of linnes or huswife-cloath are brought aboute of peddlers.
1807 J. Robinson Archæol. Græca iv. iii. 342 Some of the thoraces were made of line, or hemp twisted into small cords, and set close together.
1868 J. C. Atkinson Gloss. Cleveland Dial. Lin, linen; the fabric made with the fibre of flax; in contradistinction to the plant itself, which is sounded Line.
b. under line (occasionally in line), in one's clothes; used in Middle English poetry as a mere expletive. Cf. under gore at gore n.2 2a. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > wearing clothing > [adjective] > wearing specific material
woolwardc1315
under line (occasionally in line)c1330
fox-furred1592
furred1592
tuftaffeta1598
tissued?16..
satin1603
silk1603
russet1604
tuftaffety1612
plush1615
sericated1623
sheepskinned1628
silken1640
lawny1647
plushed1650
satined1652
harden1654
sackclotheda1656
bearskinned1694
well-furred?1707
furry1717
brocaded1767
flannelled1784
lawned1798
buckskinned1829
corduroyed1832
silked1837
silkened1841
friezy1849
fustianed1849
velveted1850
buffed1863
buckramed1880
craped1880
crapy1891
velveteened1896
mohaired1914
tweeded1921
tweedy1923
leather1961
c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 1202 Þe quene, Louesom vnder line.
a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 45 Ah wolde lylie-leor in lyn yhere leuely lores myn.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1814 Þat lufsum vnder lyne.
c1400 Rowland & O. 846 He..drissede hym in his worthy wede, þat lofesome vnder lyne.
3. The seed of flax; linseed n. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > yielding fibre, thatching, or basket material > [noun] > flax plants > seed or seed-vessel
linseedc1000
hoppec1325
flax-hoppe14..
linget1477
line-boll1483
line1540
flaxseed1562
the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medical preparations of specific origin > medicine composed of a plant > [noun] > plant used in medicine > specific seeds
linseedc1000
lupinesa1398
nigellaa1398
cardamom?c1425
line1540
semendacy1714
ispaghul1810
ergot1860
Physostigma1864
1540 R. Jonas tr. E. Roesslin Byrth of Mankynde i. f. xxxiv Take camomell & lyne of eche lyke much.
1558–68 W. Ward tr. G. Ruscelli Secretes 90 b Take thre pounde of the Oyle of lyne.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 38v They call the seede Lyn and the plant Flaxe.

Compounds

C1. General attributive.
a. (In sense 1.)
line beat n. Obsolete (cf. beat n.2)
ΚΠ
1483 Cath. Ang. 217/2 A Lyne bete, linitorium.
line-beater n. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1483 Cath. Ang. 217/2 A Lyne beter, linifex, linificator.
line-boll n. Obsolete (cf. boll n.1 3.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > yielding fibre, thatching, or basket material > [noun] > flax plants > seed or seed-vessel
linseedc1000
hoppec1325
flax-hoppe14..
linget1477
line-boll1483
line1540
flaxseed1562
1483 Cath. Angl. 217/2 A Lyne bolle, linodium.
line-dresser n.
ΚΠ
1720 London Gaz. No. 5909/4 John Northropp, late of Leeds, Line dresser.
line-house n. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1483 Cath. Angl. 217/2 A Lyne howse, linatorium.
line-sorter n.
ΚΠ
1835 A. Ure Philos. Manuf. 215 Line-sorters.
line-spinner n.
ΚΠ
1723 London Gaz. No. 6186/10 Corbort Roman,..Line-Spinner.
line-spreader n.
ΚΠ
1835 A. Ure Philos. Manuf. 216 Girls, termed line-spreaders, are employed to unite the locks of line into one sliver.
line stump n.
ΚΠ
1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. I. 198 Line stumps, or the raw flax plant with the seed..as pulled and dried.
line tow n.
ΚΠ
1897 Daily News 6 Mar. 8/6 Line tow and jute yarns in buyers' favour.
line-weaver n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > [noun] > weaving > method of > weaving other types of fabric > one who
tapenera1400
line-weaver1415
linen-weaver1474
sayman1488
say weaver1565
silk-weaver1572
narrow weaver1594
say maker1611
linen-webster1642
broad-weaver-
1415 in York Myst. Introd. 27 Lynweuers.
1480 Table Prouffytable Lernynge (Caxton) (1964) 35 Gabriel the lynweuar.
line-webber n. Obsolete
ΚΠ
?1518 Cocke Lorelles Bote sig. B.vj Lyne webbers, setters with lyne drapers.
line weft n.
ΚΠ
1890 Daily News 20 Aug. 2/7 Some stocks of line wefts are almost nil.
line-wick n.
ΚΠ
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. II. i. 10 With a line-wick, another Esquimaux plan, we could bake bread.
line work n.
ΚΠ
1483 Cath. Angl. 218/1 Lyne warke, linificium.
line-yard n.
ΚΠ
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Ligneraye, a line~yard, or flax-yard.
line yarn n.
ΚΠ
1886 Daily News 4 Sept. 6/7 Line yarns quiet.
b. (In sense 2.)
line bed n.
ΚΠ
1418 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 37 ij. remenauntz of the Lynne bed.
line clout n.
ΚΠ
c1450 Two Cookery-bks. 112 Tak a fare lynne cloute, & do therynne a disshful of ote-mele.
1855 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Yorks. Words 105 Lin-clout, linen rag.
line-draper n. Obsolete
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > trader > traders or dealers in specific articles > [noun] > in textiles, clothing, or yarns
mercerc1230
clothier1362
draper1362
woolman1390
yarn-chopper1429
line-draper1436
Welsh drapera1525
telerc1540
purple-seller1547
linen-draper1549
staplera1552
silkman1553
woollen-draper1554
wool-driver1555
woolster1577
linener1616
woolner1619
linen-man1631
ragman1649
rag merchant1665
slop-seller1665
bodice-seller1672
piece-broker1697
wool-stapler1709
cloth-man1723
Manchester-man1755
fleece-merchanta1774
rag dealer1777
man's mercer1789
keelman1821
man-mercer1837
cotton-broker1849
slopper1854
shoddyite1865
costumier1886
cotton-man1906
1436 Close Roll 15 Hen. VI Lynnedraper.
Categories »
line sock n. Obsolete
line stock n. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1483 Cath. Angl. 218/1 A Lyne soke (A. Lynstoke), linipedium.
line table-cloth n.
ΚΠ
1619 in J. Barmby Churchwardens' Accts. Pittington (1888) 75 One lin tablecloth..for the communion table.
C2.
line-finch n. Obsolete ? a linnet (cf. flax-finch n. at flax n. Compounds 2a).
ΚΠ
1483 Cath. Angl. 217/2 A Lyne fynche, linosa.
line-gout n. some plant which hinders flax in its growth.
ΚΠ
1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique v. xviii. 701 The good huswife must be carefull when the lyne is growne, to free it from being intangled with the weede vsing to winde about it, and which of some is called lynegowte.
line-spurge n. Obsolete a proposed name for Euphorbia Esula.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Euphorbiaceae (spurges and allies) > [noun]
catapucec1386
Euphorbiaa1398
spurgea1400
tithymala1400
faitour's grassc1440
cat's-grassc1450
nettlewort1523
essell1527
lint-spurge1548
sea wartwort1548
spurge thyme1548
line-spurge1562
myrtle spurge1562
sun spurge1562
wolf's-milk1575
cypress tithymal1578
devil's milk1578
mercury1578
sea-spurge1597
sun tithymal1597
welcome to our house1597
wood-spurge1597
Euphorbium1606
milk-reed1611
milkwort1640
sun-turning spurge1640
spurge-wort1647
caper-bush1673
Portland spurge1715
milkweed1736
Medusa's head1760
little-good1808
welcome-home-husband1828
three-seeded mercury1846
cat's-milk1861
turnsole1863–79
mole-tree1864
snow-on-the-mountain1873
seven sisters1879
caper-plant1882
asthma herb1887
mountain snow1889
crown of thorns1890
olifants melkbos1898
1562 W. Turner 2nd Pt. Herball f. 93 Pitiusa..may be called lynespourge of the lyknes yt it hath with linaria.
line-strike n. Obsolete a hank of flax.
ΚΠ
1483 Cath. Angl. 217/2 A Lyne stryke, linipulus.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

linen.2

Brit. /lʌɪn/, U.S. /laɪn/
Forms: Old English líne, Middle English–1600s lyne, Middle English lin, lingne, Middle English–1500s ligne, lygne, Middle English lyn, lynye, Middle English– line. β. ScottishMiddle English lynge, Middle English–1500s ling.
Etymology: Two words, ultimately of the same etymology, have coalesced. (1) Old English líne weak feminine = Middle Dutch lîne (modern Dutch lijn ), Old High German lîna (Middle High German lîne cord, line, modern German leine cord), Old Norse lína (Swedish lina , Danish line ); either a native Germanic formation on *lîno- flax, line n.1, or (more probably) an early Germanic adoption of Latin līnea (see below); (2) Middle English ligne , line , < French ligne = Provençal ligna , Portuguese linha (Spanish linea , Italian linea (in learned form)) < popular Latin *linja representing classical Latin līnea (earlier līnia ), originally ‘linen thread’, a substantive use of līnea feminine of līneus (*līnius ) adjective, flaxen, < līnum flax = line n.1; the substantive use of the adjective is due to ellipsis of some feminine noun, possibly fībra fibre n.In continental Germanic the popular Latin *linja was adopted as Old High German linia (Middle High German, modern German, Dutch, Danish linie).
I. Cord or string (and derived senses).
1.
a. A rope, cord, string; †a leash for dogs or for hawks. Chiefly Nautical or as short for clothesline n., etc. Also applied with words prefixed to particular ‘makes’ of rope, e.g. cod-line, house-line, whale-line. spec. as used by climbers (usually opposed to rope).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > types of tools generally > [noun] > rope, string, cord, etc.
stringa900
linea1000
lacec1230
cordc1305
whipcord?a1500
thumb-rope1601
thumb-band1639
chord1645
spun-yarn1685
hairline1731
tie-tie1774
rope1841
wire rope2001
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping dogs or cats > [noun] > keeping or affinity with dogs > place to exercise hounds > collars, leads, etc.
linea1000
collar1377
torretc1386
dog collar1485
doghook1528
terret1530
slip1564
dogwhip1583
trash1611
shangan1787
puzzle-peg1789
puzzle1792
shangy1825
leading-strap1856
nosepiece1865
dog tag1882
lead1893
harness1895
silent whistle1923
standing iron1934
the world > food and drink > hunting > hawking > falconry or hawking equipment > [noun] > leash
creance14..
loync1400
lunea1470
leash1497
line1590
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > mountaineering or climbing > [noun] > artificial aid > types of
runner1688
runner ring1791
ice axec1800
alpenstock1829
rope1838
climbing-iron1857
piolet1868
snap-link1875
prickera1890
middleman('s) knot (also loop, noose, etc.)1892
chock1894
glacier-rope1897
piton1898
run-out1901
belaying-pin1903
snap-ring1903
ironmongery1904
line1907
Tricouni1914
ice claw1920
peg1920
sling1920
ice piton1926
ice hammer1932
karabiner1932
rock piton1934
thread belay1935
mugger1941
running belay1941
piton hammer1943
sky-hook1951
etrier1955
pied d'éléphant1956
rope sling1957
piton runner1959
bong1960
krab1963
rurp1963
ice screw1965
nut1965
traverse line1965
jumar1966
knife-blade1968
tie-off1968
rock peg1971
whammer1971
Whillans whammer1971
Whillans harness1974
a1000 Solomon & Saturn 294 Yldo..ræceð wide langre linan, lisseð eall ðæt heo wile.
c1050 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 182/24 Spirae, linan.
1390–1 Earl Derby's Exped. (Camden) 40 Pro..v lynes parvis pro les ankeres et seyles.]
a1425 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Galba) l. 29532 Cursing es þe fendes lyne þat harles a man to hell pine.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) ix. l. 176 The seymen..Thair lynys kest and waytyt weyll the tyd.
c1520 in J. T. Fowler Memorials Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1888) III. 206 Pro vjxx fawdom long lyne for the convaans of the schryne with ij lytyll lynys callyd syde ropes.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Josh. ii. D She knyt the rose coloured lyne in the wyndowe.
1589 J. Rider Bibliotheca Scholastica The gesses, lemniscus. The lines, tænia.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. i. sig. A3v And by her in a line a milkewhite lambe she lad.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. 186/2 The string wherewith we lead them;..for a Spaniel [it is called] a Line.
1700 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises (1703) 247 A Line seldom holding to strein..above 50 or 60 feet.
1758 S. Johnson Idler 3 June 65 Shirts waving upon lines.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 446 Deep-sea soundings for scientific purposes are recorded in thousands of fathoms, in which case the line is sometimes made of silk.
1889 A. B. Goulden Mission of St. Alphege 51 Family washing is hung on lines stretched across the lane.
1907 Yesterday's Shopping (1969) 700/2 Fine alpine line.
1923 G. D. Abraham First Steps to Climbing ii. 35 A light Alpine line is also supplied but that is mostly used by experts on exceptionally difficult courses... For the beginner the ordinary rope is advisable.
1935 D. Pilley Climbing Days xi. 224 We set aside the ordinary Alpine rope, and used 120 feet of Alpine line.
1950 Mountaineering Handbk. (Assoc. Brit. Members Swiss Alpine Club) ii. 27 Line can be used on ice or rock..or for rappel slings... Doubled, it can be used as a light rope.
1957 R. W. Clark & E. C. Pyatt Mountaineering in Brit. ix. 160 One development in technique was..the increasing use of line in preference to full size rope.
b. In generalized sense, as a material: Cord.
ΘΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > other manufactured or derived materials > [noun] > rope or cord
rope1548
line1797
cord1835
1797 Encycl. Brit. XVI. 487/1 The making of two strand and three strand line.
c. A ‘cord’ in the body. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > vascular system > blood vessel > [noun]
eddreOE
arm-eddrec1230
veina1325
pipec1385
weasand1398
venaa1400
conceptacle1576
vene1606
line1611
blood vessel1655
sinus1673
sanguiduct1681
blood sinus1857
the world > life > the body > nervous system > nerve > [noun]
sinew1398
nervea1400
cordc1400
chord?1541
line1611
lingual1778
1611 J. Florio Queen Anna's New World of Words Linéa álba, the white line, the vmbellical veine, the line or hollow tying from the nauel.
1780 W. Cowper Table Talk 487 She pours a sensibility divine Along the nerve of every feeling line.
d. Applied to a spider's thread. poetic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Arachnida > [noun] > order Aranea > member of (spider) > thread
line1733
1733 A. Pope Ess. Man i. 202 The Spider's touch, how exquisitely fine, Feels at each thread, and lives along the line.
1780 W. Cowper Progress of Error 495 Spun as fine As bloated spiders draw the flimsy line.
1839 P. J. Bailey Festus 49 A gossamer line sighing itself along The air.
e.
(a) A telegraph or telephone wire or cable. Also (with mixture of sense 26), a telegraph route, a telegraphic system connecting two or more stations; a telephonic connection; an individual ‘number’ or extension. Cf. to hold the line at hold v. 6h, hotline n. Also figurative, esp. in to get the lines crossed, to become confused.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > [noun] > line
wire1813
line1847
wire line1848
loop1863
landline1865
saddle wire1876
telephone line1877
concentric cable1888
Pupin cable1904
multiple twin1922
quad1922
twisted pair1923
star quad1927
music line1929
coaxial cable1934
coax1945
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telegraphy > [noun] > channel or route
line1847
channel1848
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > [noun] > line
line1900
wire1902
phone line1935
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > perplexity, bewilderment > be or become confused [verb (intransitive)]
wonder1297
confusec1350
maskera1375
studya1375
to annoy of?c1400
muse?c1430
marc1440
manga1450
puzzle1605
dunce1611
quandary1616
wavera1625
wilder1658
to scratch one's head1712
maffle1781
to strike up1844
turn1852
to fall over oneself1889
fuzz1930
to get the lines crossed1973
1847 Handbk. Electric Telegr. 11 So rapid is the transmission of the electric current along the lines of wire, that..to carry the wires eight times round the earth..would occupy but one second of time.
1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. IV. 1191 Five great electric telegraphic lines... The extent of line thus served appears to be about fifteen hundred miles.
1854 J. W. Brett Specif. Patent 10,939 21 This said cable or rope I denominate my Oceanic Line.
1900 C. H. Chambers Tyranny of Tears i. 2 Miss Woodward. (Speaking into telephonevery sweetly.)..Mr. Parbury's just coming in now—he'll speak to you—keep the line.
1901 Scotsman 9 Mar. 9/3 The American trans-Pacific line.
1921 Conquest Jan. 127/2 The ‘busy tone’ is sent back to the calling subscriber if the line he wants is busy.
1934 Punch 21 Mar. 332/1 The notepaper should carry—(1) The name of the firm. (2) Its address. (3) Fictitious address for creditors. (4) Telephone number (at least ten lines).
1944 H. McCloy Panic 6 Ronnie showed the doctor how to get an outside line and he dialed a number.
1951 Oxf. Junior Encycl. IV. 448/1 The Post Office took over all ‘trunk’ long-distance lines in 1896, and 6 years later opened the first of several large London exchanges, the ‘Central’, with 14,000 lines.
1970 B. Knox Children of Mist iv. 77 Thane lifted the telephone. When the desk constable answered he asked for a line... Then he began dialling.
1972 J. Wilson Hide & Seek iii. 61 What? I can't hear you. It's a terrible line.
1973 Times 16 Apr. 14/6 It clearly has the advantage of keeping all the lines from getting crossed and establishing the priorities of policy.
1973 ‘K. Royce’ Spider Underground iii. 50 He told me he couldn't see me then and to get off the line.
1974 Times 15 Mar. 8/2 Mr Nixon has admitted that he ordered a cover-up of the plumbers' activities, but suggested that his staff got their lines crossed and took this to be an order to cover up the Watergate affair as well.
(b) Hence, any wire or cable that serves as a conductor of electric current, for whatever purpose.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > transmission of electricity, conduction > wire as conductor > [noun]
wire1746
electric wire1819
rheophore1827
live wire1881
line1886
power wire1890
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical power, electricity > distribution system > [noun] > transmission line
line1886
power line1894
transmission line1906
tie-line1949
1886 G. Kapp Electr. Transmission of Energy viii. 205 Overhead lines, whether used for electric lighting or transmission of energy, are exposed to the effects of lightning.
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXV. 35/2 Alternate current is used for lighting and continuous current for the tramway line.
1920 Whittaker's Electr. Engineer's Pocket-bk. (ed. 4) 407 Since the induced voltages due to lightning are the same whatever the working voltage of the line, the heavier insulation on extra high voltage lines renders them less subject to lightning trouble.
1930 Engineering 25 Apr. 548/2 Minimum expenditure on the transmission and distribution systems from those points, connoting the use of overhead lines.
1957 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 887/1 On the teleprinter at the other end of the line, the responses of the armature of a single electromagnet..cause the corresponding character to be printed.
1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio iv. 79 In a building the size of a broadcasting studio centre there is a danger not only of high frequency losses due to capacitance, but also induction of programme signals, hum, etc., from other lines.
f. plural. Reins. dialect and U.S.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [noun] > reins
rein1297
bridle reina1382
bridea1425
linkc1450
leading-rein1483
quinsell1598
bearing rein1790
bridoon rein1795
check-reina1809
ribbon1813
ribands1815
bit-rein1833
check-piece1833
nose-rein1844
lines1852
reinage1863
check1868
overdraw1870
single line1875
overcheck1963
1852 C. A. Bristed Upper Ten Thousand 67 Handing the lines to Ashburner, as he stopped his team, Masters leaped out.
1895 E. Rydings Manx Tales 77 He'd jus' puk up the lines on the hosses back.
1901 G. W. Cable Cavalier x He stepped into the carry-all and took the lines.
g. figurative. line of life: the thread fabled to be spun by the Fates, determining the duration of a person's life. Obsolete. Cf. sense 27.
ΘΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > [noun] > expectation of life > thread of life
line of lifec1580
filleta1592
file1606
the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > [noun] > the (three) Fates > thread spun by
the fatal thread1447
line of lifec1580
lifeline1855
c1580 Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalmes David xxxix. iii Lo, thou a spanns length mad'st my living line.
1600 Certain Prayers in W. K. Clay Liturg. Services Q. Eliz. (1847) 694 That the line of thy mercies and the line of her life may be lengthened and run forth together.
1601 R. Yarington Two Lamentable Trag. iii. ii. E 3 b This fatall instrument, Was mark'd by heauen to cut his line of life, And must supplie the knife of Atropos.
1623 H. Holland in W. Shakespeare Comedies, Hist. & Trag. sig. A5 Though his line of life went soone about, The life yet of his lines shall neuer out.
1681 J. Flavell Method of Grace ix. 188 Our troubles about sin are but short, though they should run parallel with the line of life.
2.
a. A cord bearing a hook or hooks, used in fishing. (Also fishing-line.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > fishing-line > [noun]
linec1374
fishing-line1466
string1585
thread1602
fish-line1639
taum1670
c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde v. 777 To fysshen here, he leyde out hook and lyne.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 13285 At see sant Iohn and Iam he fand, Quils þai þair lines war waitand.
a1450 Fysshynge wyth Angle (1883) 8 Arme ȝowr crop at þe ovir ende down to the frete with a lyn of vi herys & double the lyne.
1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope xvi Of a fyssher whiche with his lyne toke a lytyll fysshe.
1590 L. M[ascall] (title) A Booke of Fishing with Hooke & Line.
a1609 J. Dennys Secrets of Angling (1613) i. xx. sig. B4 The Line to lead the Fish with wary skill.
1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler ii. 55 Put it [a grasshopper] on your hook, with your line about two yards long. View more context for this quotation
1827 W. M. Praed in Port Folio 22 359/2 The line the Abbot saw him throw, Had been fashioned and formed long ages ago.
1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 50 I thought you never left your books except To trim the boat and set the lines.
b. In allusive phrases referring to the ‘playing’ of a hooked fish at the end of the line; esp. to give line: to allow full play, scope, or latitude.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > freedom of action or from restraint > not restrain [verb (transitive)]
slidec1386
to give a person rope (also enough rope, etc.)a1475
to give (the) rein(s) (to)1484
to let go1526
to give (a horse) his (also her, its, etc.) head1571
license1605
to give linea1616
unchecka1616
to give a loose (occasionally give loose) to1685
to give stretch to1777
to let rip1857
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) i. ii. 182 I am angling now, (Though you perceiue me not how I giue Lyne ). View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 (1623) iv. iii. 39 Giue him Line [1600 time], and scope, Till that his passions (like a Whale on ground) Confound themselues with working.
1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue ii. 124 We began to play, and I went wearying of them out by little and little, giving them line enough to runne themselues out of breath.
1670 J. Eachard Grounds Contempt of Clergy 34 So soon as he gets hold of a Text, he..falls a flinging it out of one hand into the other, tossing it this way and that; lets it run a little upon the Line, then tanutus, high jingo, come again.
a1687 E. Waller Maid's Trag. Alter'd (1690) 57 The meanest Wretch, if Heav'n should give him Line, Would never stop, till he were thought Divine.
a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 435 The King was willing to give Oates line enough, as he expressed it to me.
1854 C. Dickens Hard Times ii. viii. 219 It's policy to give 'em line enough.
3. plural. Strings or cords laid for snaring birds. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fowling > fowling equipment > [noun] > trap or snare
panter1299
linesc1325
pitfalla1382
gilderta1400
pantle?a1450
shrape1532
pitfold1575
strap1584
scrape1620
pole trap1879
teagle1908
c1325 Song of Yesterday 130 in Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 136 Þe schadewe cacchen þei ne myht For no lynes þat þei couþe lay.
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. v. 199 As hose leiþ lynes to lacche wiþ Foules.
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. Lines, among fowlers, is used to express the strings by which they catch birds... These lines are made of long and small cords, knotted in different places.
4.
a. A cord used by builders and others for taking measurements, or for making things level or straight. (Cf. plumb-line v.) line-and-plummet (attributive): rigidly methodical.
ΘΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > equipment for marking out work > [noun] > plumb-line or chalk-line
poundereOE
righteOE
line1340
plummeta1398
plumba1400
perpendicle?c1400
plumb rulec1400
levelc1440
pendant1440
plumb linea1456
levelling-rule1598
perpendicular1604
plummet levelc1850
point-brass1850
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 150 He deþ al to wylle and to þe line, and to þe reule, and to þe leade, and to þe leuele.
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. xi. 135 I..lered hem liuel [v.r. leuel] and lyne, þauȝ I loke dimme.
c1440 York Myst. viii. 98 To hewe þis burde I will be-gynne, But firste I wille lygge on my lyne.
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xxxix To take a lyne and set it there as thou wylte haue thy hedge, and to make a trenche after thy lyne.
1552 Abp. J. Hamilton Catech. i. i. f. 5 Ane biggare can nocht make ane euin vp wal without direction of his lyne.
1611 Bible (King James) Ezek. xl. 3 A man..with a line of flaxe in his hand, & a measuring reed. View more context for this quotation
1758 J. Watson Mil. Dict. (ed. 5) Cordeau, a Line divided into Fathoms, Feet, &c. to mark Out-works on the Ground, used by Engineers.
1848 Chambers's Information for People (new ed.) I. 515/2 The gardener measures and marks off all his figures in the ground with his line and spade.
1849 D. M. Mulock Ogilvies (1875) xii. 89 There was a line-and-plummet regularity, an angular preciseness, in Mrs. Breynton's mind and person.
1871 W. C. Bryant tr. Homer Odyssey I. v. 131 Trees then he felled..and carefully He smoothed their sides, and wrought them by a line.
figurative.c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde i. 1068 Eueri wight þat hath an hous to founde..wole..send his hertes lyne out fro with Inne Alderfirst his purpos for to wynne.1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xxiii. 218 This decencie is..the line & leuell for al good makers to do their busines by.1859 E. FitzGerald tr. Rubáiyát Omar Khayyám xli. 9 For ‘Is’ and ‘Is-not’ though with Rule and Line, And ‘Up-and-down’ without, I could define.
b. by line: chiefly in figurative contexts, with methodical accuracy. Also by line and level, by rule and line, etc.
ΘΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [adverb]
rightlyeOE
righteOE
evenOE
evenlya1225
redlyc1275
justicelya1375
justilya1375
justlya1375
redilya1375
trulya1375
properlya1382
precisec1392
preciselyc1392
truec1392
straitlya1395
leala1400
arightc1405
by linec1420
justlyc1425
featlya1450
rule-righta1450
to the letter?1495
exquisitely1526
evenliklya1530
very1530
absolutely1538
jump1539
just1568
accurately1581
punctually1581
jumplya1586
arights1596
just so1601
plumb1601
compassly1606
nicelya1616
squarely1626
justa1631
adequately1632
mathematicallya1638
critically1655
exquisitively1660
just1665
pointedly1667
faithfully1690
correctlya1704
jus1801
jest1815
jes1851
neat1875
cleanly1883
on the nose1883
smack-dab1892
spot on1920
forensically1974
c1420 Anturs of Arth. (Douce) 477 Þei settene listes by lyne one þe loȝ lande.
1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 43v Through cunning wt dybble, rake, mattock & spade: by line & by leauell, trim garden is made.
1578 T. Timme tr. J. Calvin Comm. Gen. 281 The deeds of Men..are..to be examined by Gods level and line.
1612 B. Jonson Alchemist ii. vi. sig. F3 To carry Quarrells, As Gallants doe, and manage 'hem, by line . View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iv. i. 238 We steale by lyne and leuell, and't like your grace.
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. i. 5 It [sc. the matter] is not hudled, but built up by Plummet and Line, with proportion to Time and Place.
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 414. ¶5 Plantations of our Europeans, which are laid out by the Rule and Line.
1782 W. Cowper Conversation in Poems 252 A poet does not work by square or line, As smiths and joiners perfect a design.
c. plural. Appointed lot in life. In echoes of Psalm xvi. 6, where the reference seems to be to the marking out of land for a dwelling-place.
ΘΠ
the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > [noun] > that which is ordained by fate > personal destiny or one's lot
lotOE
chance1297
fallc1300
weirds1320
cuta1340
fatec1374
vie1377
parta1382
foredoom1563
event1577
allotment1586
fatality1589
kincha1600
lines1611
fortunea1616
dispensation1704
1611 Bible (King James) Psalms xvi. 6 The lines are fallen vnto mee in pleasant places; yea, I haue a goodly heritage. View more context for this quotation
1849 J. G. Whittier Leaves from Margaret Smith's Jrnl. in Prose Wks. (1889) I. 175 My brother's lines have indeed fallen unto him in a pleasant place.
1865 Daily Tel. 25 Oct. 7/3 The poor Pope's lines seem just now to have fallen in most unpleasant places, and are indeed hard lines.
5. Rule, canon, precept; standard of life or practice. [Compare 4b.] Obsolete. rare.Line has been used in several places in the King James Bible to translate Hebrew qav (primarily ‘cord’) in this sense. Cf. line upon line at sense 23h.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > control > [noun] > regulation > a regulation or rule
lawa1225
precepta1325
line1340
observancea1382
rulea1387
reglec1475
regimentc1485
reuglec1485
instruction1526
maxima1564
maxim1578
preception1620
reglement1622
positure1624
gnomon1627
regulationa1640
parapegm1646
rubric1891
reg1904
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 124 Uor be þise uirtue al þet man deþ..al he diȝt and let and reuleþ to þe lyne of scele.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 160 Þo þet ne zeneȝeþ..ac doþ al be riȝtuolnesse and be lingne.
a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 141 Thys thyng apperyth mervelouse straunge, pepul to have the lyne of theyr lyfe to be wryte in a straunge tong.
1557 Bible (Whittingham) 2 Cor. x. 13 We wil not reioyce aboue measure..but according to the measure of that line [κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τοῦ κανόνος], wherof God hath distributed vnto vs a measure.
1563 N. Winȝet Wks. (1890) II. 7 An infallible, as it is a general, reul to al richt, an ewin lyne of lawtay.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. Proem sig. M4v Let none then blame me, if..I doe not forme them to the common line Of present dayes, which are corrupted sore. View more context for this quotation
1607 T. Middleton Michaelmas Terme ii. sig. Cv A man must not so much as spit but within line and fashion.
1611 Bible (King James) Psalms xix. 4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. View more context for this quotation
6. hard lines: see hard line n. 1b. hard line money: see hard line n. and adj. Compounds.
II. A thread-like mark.
7.
a. A stroke or mark, long in proportion to its breadth, traced with a pen, a tool, etc. upon a surface. line of burden, line of floatation, line of war (on the hull of a ship): see the nouns.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > handwriting or style of > formation of letters > [noun] > stroke
linea1382
tittlec1384
stroke1567
minim1587
pot-hook1611
dash1615
hair-stroke1634
hook1668
foot stroke1676
stem1676
duct1699
hanger1738
downstroke?1760
hairline1846
up-stroke1848
skit1860
pot-crook1882
ligature1883
coupling-stroke1906
bow1914
ductus1922
ascender1934
society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > drawing lines > [noun] > other lines
linea1382
rulec1475
stroke1567
trig1648
ductor1658
style1690
pencil line1758
guideline1785
section-line1827
subhorizon1829
broken line1937
wiggle1942
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. xxxviii. 8 I shal make to turne aȝeen the shadewe of lynes, bi the whiche it hadde go doun in the oriloge of Acath, in the sunne, bacward bi ten lynes.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1839) xvii. 184 Be the gret Compas devised be Lines in manye parties; and that alle the Lynes meeten at the Centre.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 305/2 Lyne, or lynye, linea.
1551 R. Record Pathway to Knowl. i. Defin. Euery lyne is drawen betwene twoo prickes, wherof the one is at the beginning, and the other at the ende.
1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 122 Draw a right line from A unto D.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry V i. ii. 210 As many lines close in the dyall center: So [etc.].
1610 A. Willet Hexapla in Danielem 195 Archimedes..was drawing of his lines.
1679 Guillim's Display of Heraldrie (ed. 5) 12/1 [Gules] is expressed in Graving by Lines drawn streight down the Escucheon... [Azure] is expressed by Lines drawn cross the Shield.
1691 W. Petty Treat. Naval Philos. in T. Hale Acct. New Inventions 125 The line of Burthen, or fourth Line.
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. Lines, in heraldry, the figures used in armories to divide the shield into different parts, and to compose different figures.
1782 W. Cowper Hope in Poems 171 He draws upon life's map a zig-zag line.
1821 W. M. Craig Lect. Drawing ii. 100 An expression of forms only by simple lines.
1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues I. 134 The writing-master first draws lines with a style.
figurative.a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) iv. ii. 81 His life is paralel'd Euen with the stroke and line of his great Iustice. View more context for this quotation1630 Bp. J. Hall Occas. Medit. §ii If thou have drawne in me some lines, & notes of able indowments.1677 W. Temple Let. to Charles II in Wks. (1731) II. 438 I promised to represent the whole to Your Majesty in the truest Lines and Colours I could possibly.1878 W. E. H. Lecky Hist. Eng. 18th Cent. I. i. 80 The lines of his character are indeed too broad and clear to be overlooked.
b. Music. One of the horizontal parallel equidistant strokes forming the stave, or placed above or below it (ledger lines).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > written or printed music > notation > [noun] > stave > lines of stave
rulec1475
line1602
ledger line1697
1602 J. Marston Hist. Antonio & Mellida v. sig. H4 Iudgement gentlemen, iudgement. Wast not aboue line? I appeale to your mouthes that heard my song.
1654 J. Playford Breefe Introd. Skill Musick 3 Five lines is onely usuall, as being sufficient to containe the compass of Notes thereto belonging.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 157/1.
1818 T. Busby Gram. Music 3 The Spaces, as well as the Lines of the Stave, furnish situations for the notes.
c. line of lines, Gunter's line. line of numbers, line of shadows : see number n., shadow n.
Π
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Gunter's Line Line of Lines, and Line of Numbers, is a graduated Line usually placed on Scales, Rules, Sectors, &c.
d. Fine Art. Applied spec. to the lines employed in a picture; chiefly collective or in generalized sense, character of draughtsmanship, method of rendering form. Also plural (cf. sense 15) the distinctive features of composition in a picture. line of beauty: the curve (resembling a slender elongated letter S), which according to Hogarth is a necessary element in all beauty of form. Also, with reference to engraving (see line engraving n. at Compounds 2).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > drawing > [noun] > character of draughtsmanship
line1616
the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > beauty of shape or form > [noun] > curved element of
line of beauty1753
1616 B. Jonson Forrest xiii. 20 in Wks. I I, that..haue not..so my selfe abandon'd, as..I should..feare to draw true lines, 'cause others paint.
1753 W. Hogarth Anal. Beauty vii. 38 The waving line, which is a line more productive of beauty..for which reason we shall call it the line of beauty... The ..line of beauty..being compos'd of two curves contrasted, becomes still more ornamental.
1753 W. Hogarth Anal. Beauty x. 52 For as..there is but one that truly deserves the name of the line of beauty, so there is only one precise serpentine-line that I call the line of grace.
1756 G. Smith tr. Laboratory (new ed.) II. ii. 42 A bold stroke with the line of beauty, and well shaped stalks, leafs, and flowers..are the only things a designer has to observe in compleating of a well-designed damask pattern.
1824 T. F. Dibdin Libr. Compan. p. iv Miniature engravings in the line manner.
1849 Chambers's Information for People (new ed.) II. 727/1 To this state of etching..professional engravers bring their plates to be finished in the line manner.
18.. Bookseller's Catal. First impressions of..the 27 fine portraits..all beautifully engraved in line.
1895 I. Zangwill Master ii. i. 126 To translate into colour and line all this huge pageant of life.
1895 I. Zangwill Master ii. iii. 154 We praise the mellow Virgilisms in Tennyson, but we are down upon the painter who repeats another's lines.
e. Geomancy.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > divination by symbols, letters, figures, etc. > [noun] > by shapes or figures > figures in geomancy
mother1591
nephew1591
linea1593
a1593 C. Marlowe Tragicall Hist. Faustus (1604) sig. A3 Lines, circles, sceanes, letters and characters.
f. In various games, as tennis, football, etc., the line denotes a particular line which marks the limit of legitimate or successful play; in Cricket, the line of flight of the ball from the bowler's hand. Also in phr. (taken from American football, but influenced by sense 20b) to hold the line, to maintain, support, a position, viewpoint, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > place for sports or games > [noun] > line
line1550
trig1648
sideline1862
touchline1863
foul line1870
backline1890
trigger1891
centreline1920
by-line1936
stripe1967
the mind > will > decision > constancy or steadfastness > be constant or steadfast [verb (intransitive)]
standeOE
cleavec1275
to stand stiffa1290
stick1447
to stand or stick to one's tackling1529
to stand in this1538
to set down (the or one's) staff1584
to stand one's ground1600
to stand to one's pan pudding1647
to maintain one's ground1736
to nail one's colours (also flag) to the mast (also masthead)1808
to stay put1843
to stand firm1856
to sit tight1890
to keep the flag flying1914
to dig in one's toes1933
to hold the line1956
1550 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue (new ed.) ii. xi. sig. Civ Thou hast striken the ball, vnder the line.
1642 J. Howell The Vote 6 Poore mortals are so many balls Tossd, some o're line, some under Fortune's walls.
1887 Daily News 10 Jan. 3/5 The English forwards dribbled the ball close up to the Welsh line and nearly scored.
1890 C. G. Heathcote Lawn Tennis in J. M. Heathcote et al. Tennis (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) 334 It will often be extremely difficult for him to judge on which side of the line the ball was dropped.
1899 F. Mitchell in M. Shearman et al. Football (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) (new ed.) 210 When the throw~out belongs to his opponents, every forward on coming up to the line must mark his man.
1956 ‘B. Holiday’ & W. Dufty Lady sings Blues xi. 116 But 52nd Street couldn't hold the line against Negroes forever.
1960 I. Wallach Absence of Cello (1961) 48 Her voice had a factious quaver as she dug in and prepared to hold the line on Perry's team.
1962 Listener 19 Apr. 672/2 ‘Holding the line’..of costs, prices, and wages is vital to what he believes to be the continuance of American prosperity.
1963 A. Ross Australia 63 iii. 87 He moved solidly behind the line, early in position for anything that kept low.
1968 W. Safire New Lang. Politics 190/2 ‘Holding the line against inflation’ remains a cliché, taken from a football metaphor (‘Hold-that-line!’) which in turn comes from a military expression.
g. Ballet. The total effect of the disposition of the dancer's limbs, body, and head in movement or repose. (Cf. sense 7d.)
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > dancing > ballet > [noun] > movements > disposition of body and limbs
body line1898
line1912
1912 J. E. C. Flitch Mod. Dancing xi. 170 Her purity of line is never broken by..inartistic feats of athletic dexterity.
1922 C. W. Beaumont & S. Idzikowski Man. Theory & Pract. Class. Theatr. Dancing 26 Beauty of line is one of the dancer's greatest assets.
1936 A. L. Haskell Prelude to Ballet xvii. 85 Fluidity and large movements whose line can be extended indefinitely are the essential characteristics of the Russian School.
1948 Ballet Ann. 2 91 He has a fine classical technique and excellent line.
1960 Times 7 Mar. 3/7 She is already a dancer of great charm..with a particularly striking sense of line that showed to advantage in lifts.
h. Music. Instrumental or vocal melody; a structured sequence of notes or tones.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > melody or succession of sounds > [noun]
melody1728
line1923
1923 R. H. Myers Mod. Mus. vi. 80 His music has line..and the enormous merit of condensation.
1955 Times 26 Aug. 3/5 In spite of the cello's natural inclination to ruminative melancholy..it has plenty of cantilena... But it is line, always line, not harmony, that is the essence of the matter.
1961 Listener 14 Dec. 1046/3 What do singers mean when they talk about ‘maintaining the line’?.. It means striking a level in the voice from which all expression is controlled.
1961 Listener 14 Dec. 1046/3 This ‘line’ of the singer is a physical conception.
1961 Listener 21 Dec. 1089/3 The music takes shape by means of a simple recitative-like vocal line, modal, flexible, limpid, with an orchestral part of matching directness and simplicity.
1962 Radio Times 22 Feb. 43/1 I was concerned at the time with the idea of inventing melodic line and harmonic texture directly from the fund of the twelve notes available within the octave.
1967 Melody Maker 28 Jan. 7/5 I consider jazz to be a lot of horns and one of those top speed bass lines.
i. Each of the narrow strips into which an image is divided for transmission and reproduction by television, corresponding to a single (usually side-to-side) passage of the scanning spot across the camera tube or picture tube: often with prefixed number, as 625-line(s), indicating the number of lines making up a complete picture.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > broadcasting > television > visual element > [noun] > picture elements, lines, or rasters
picture element1925
line1929
scanning line1929
scanning field1935
scanning raster1935
field1938
line standard1959
pixel1965
1929 Proc. IRE 17 1586 He first arrived at a correlation between the number of ‘halftone lines per inch’ and the corresponding television ‘scanning lines’.
1929 Proc. IRE 17 1586 Halftones of letters and photographs were made up, and their appearance compared with the television image on a 48-line system of the same original.
1938 Encycl. Brit. Bk. of Year 633/2 The service was continued, using exclusively a standard of 405 lines 50 frames interlaced scanning.
1961 G. Millerson Technique Television Production ii. 20 To reduce flicker problems, the beam is made to read the odd lines (odd field) of the image first (i.e. lines 1, 3, 5,..) and then return to scan the even lines between them (i.e. lines 2, 4, 6,..).
1963 Ann. Reg. 1962 27 They duly authorized the B.B.C. to start a second television channel by 1964 on U.H.F. and with an improved picture of 625 lines.
1974 Sci. Amer. Jan. 115/2 Each 1·25-second signal comprises a ‘line’ of picture data that is analogous to the line of a television picture. About 850 lines..complete a weather-signal picture.
8.
a. Something resembling a traced mark, chiefly in natural objects; e.g. a thin band of colour; a suture, seam, furrow, ridge, etc. line of growth (Conch.): see quot. 1839.
ΘΠ
the world > space > shape > condition of being long in relation to breadth > linearity > [noun] > a linear object or mark
linec1290
train?1440
c1290 S. Edmund 96 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 299 In al is bodi nas o weom..bote ase is heued was of I-smyte..A smal red line is al-a-boute.
c1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 91 Longe leuys..þat hauyn whit lynys yn hem.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 266 The Lione he settis in the midis; than tua lynes, on the vttir syd, Wouen in threid of golde.
1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια 476 The lynes it hath are long and almost superficiary, yet diuided manifold..by the thin membrane running betwixt them.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) ii. i. 103 Yon grey Lines, That fret the Clouds, are Messengers of Day. View more context for this quotation
1682 N. Grew Idea Philos. Hist. Plants 6 in Anat. Plants Those several Lines, by which both the said Varieties [of plants] are determin'd.
1826 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. IV. 290 Line, a narrow longitudinal stripe.
1839 G. B. Sowerby Conchol. Man. 57 Lines of growth, the eccentric striæ or lines, formed by the edges of the successive layers of shelly matter deposited by the animal, by which it increases the shell.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. iii. 26 Along the faces of the sections the lines of stratification were clearly shown.
1880 R. Rimmer Land & Freshwater Shells p. xxiii The line of growth.
1883 F. M. Peard Contradictions xiv There were black lines under her eyes the next morning.
1895 I. Zangwill Master i. x. 111 A thin line of light crept again under the door.
b. A furrow or seam in the face or hands. In Palmistry: A mark on the palm of the hand supposed to indicate one's fate, temperament, or abilities; e.g. line of life, line of fortune, line of the head, line of the heart, line of health; also hepatic line, line of the liver (see liver n.1 and adj.2 Phrases 1).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > skin > textures or states of skin > [noun] > wrinkle
rimpleeOE
rivellingOE
rivelc1325
crow's footc1374
frounce1390
wrinklea1400
frumplec1440
freckle1519
line1538
lirkc1540
shrivel1547
plait1574
furrow1589
trench1594
crowfoot1614
seam1765
thought-line1858
laughter line1867
laugh line1913
smile-line1921
worry lines1972
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > divination by natural phenomena > palmistry > [noun] > mark on the hand
line1538
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > divination by natural phenomena > palmistry > [noun] > mark on the hand > line of life
line of life1538
lifeline1571
vital line1653
vitala1824
1538 T. Elyot Dict. Incisuræ,..the lynes in the palme of the hande.
1567 J. Maplet Greene Forest f. 56 The small lynes in our hande.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice ii. ii. 155 I shall haue good fortune; goe too, heere's a simple lyne of life. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) iii. ii. 74 He does smile his face into more lynes, then is in the new Mappe. View more context for this quotation
a1637 B. Jonson Masque of Gypsies 58 in tr. Horace Art of Poetry (1640) You..meane not to marry by the line of your life.
1653 R. Saunders Physiognomie i. 42 The Line of Life, or of the Heart... He that hath this..entire, long, clear and ruddy,..he shall live a happy life.
1653 R. Saunders Physiognomie i. 42 Line of liver, liver line [see [see liver n.1 and adj.2 Phrases 1]. , [see liver line n. at Compounds 3]. ].
a1716 R. South 12 Serm. (1717) V. 276 No more than he can read the future Estate of his Soul in the Lines of his Face.
1843 H. W. Longfellow Spanish Student iii. v. 156 The line of life is crossed by many marks.
1895 I. Zangwill Master iii. ii. 290 There were lines of premature age on the handsome face.
1911 Encycl. Brit. XX. 650/1 at Palmistry A line starting above the head of the second metacarpal bone and crossing the hand to the middle of its ulnar border is the line of the head.
c. A narrow region in a spectrum, appearing to the eye as a fine straight black or shining stroke transverse to the length of the spectrum (cf. Fraunhofer n.). Hence in extended use, a component of emitted radiation at what is nominally a single discrete wavelength (in practice, over a narrow range of wavelengths containing one at which the intensity is a maximum).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > decomposition of light, spectrum > [noun] > spectral line
line1831
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > chromatism > [noun] > spectrum > band or line forming part of
band1831
line1831
Fraunhofer lines1837
1831 D. Brewster Life I. Newton v. 68 Among the most important modern discoveries respecting the spectrum we must enumerate that of fixed dark and coloured lines, which we owe to the sagacity of Dr Wollaston and M. Fraunhofer.
1837 Penny Cycl. IX. 21/1 The beautiful discovery made by Wollaston and Fraunhofer of the existence of dark spaces, bands transverse to the length of the spectrum, and now generally designated Fraunhofer's lines.
1932 Sci. Abstr. A. 35 1561 (heading) Line emission in infra-red.
1962 Sci. Surv. 3 67 For a normal lamp, emitting a line in the visible spectrum, the width..of the line would be of the order of 10,000 Mc/s.
1971 D. W. Sciama Mod. Cosmol. ii. 21 He calculated that a sensitive radio receiver should be able to detect the 21 cm line as emitted by clouds of hydrogen gas in the Galaxy.
1971 Nature 31 Dec. 505/2 The atoms made up of the smaller mass particles would then radiate their characteristic lines at longer wavelengths.
d. Jewellery. (See quot. 1883.)
ΚΠ
1883 Daily Tel. 12 Feb. 5/2 The..cat's-eye..is characterised by possessing a remarkable play of light resulting from a peculiarity in its crystallisation. This ray of light is called ‘line’ by jewellers.
9. Mathematics.
a. An element of configuration such as must be represented in geometrical figures by a ‘line’ (sense 7); a continuous extent (whether straight or curved) of length without breadth or thickness; the limit of a surface; the trace of a moving point.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > geometry > line > [noun]
line1559
lineola1715
link1866
linearity1904
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > longitudinal extent > [noun] > that which has length > without breadth or thickness
line1559
1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 17 A Circle is a plaine and flat figure comprehended within one line, which is called a circumference.
1570 H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. i. f. 1v A lyne is a magnitude hauing one onely space or dimension.
1660 tr. I. Barrow Euclide's Elements i. 1 A Line is a longitude without latitude.
1715 tr. D. Gregory Elements Astron. I. iii. §28. 434 If from any point L of the Ellipse two right lines LS, LE be drawn.
1827 O. Gregory Hutton's Course Math. (ed. 9) I. 280 Lines are either Parallel, Oblique, Perpendicular, or Tangential.
1855 D. Brewster Mem. Life I. Newton (new ed.) II. xiv. 6 He considers a line as composed of an infinite number of points.
1885 H. W. Watson & S. H. Burbury Math. Theory Electr. & Magn. I. 155 The line x = κ log f.
b. With various defining words: A curve connecting all points having a common property.
ΚΠ
1826 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. IV. xlix. 484 Fixed by the will of the Creator, rather than..regulated by any isothermal lines.
1850 D. T. Ansted Elem. Course Geol. 20 There is in the neighbourhood of the earth's equator, and cutting it at four points, an irregular curve called the magnetic equator or aclinic line.
1873 E. Atkinson tr. A. Ganot Elem. Treat. Physics (ed. 6) 565 The aclinic line is the line which joins all these places on the earth where..the dipping-needle is quite horizontal.
1877 R. Wormell Thermodynamics 130 If a substance can expand without gain or loss of heat, and a curve is drawn, such that the abscissa and ordinate of any point respectively represent the volume of a unit of mass, and the corresponding pressure for unit of area, this curve is termed an adiabatic line.
10.
a. A circle of the terrestrial or celestial sphere; e.g. †ecliptic line, equinoctial line, †tropic line. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > celestial sphere > circle of celestial sphere > [noun]
circle of altitudec1000
linea1387
the world > the earth > region of the earth > zone or belt > [noun]
linea1387
climatea1393
clime1553
region1556
zone1559
belt1796
subzone1851
dead zone1926
the world > the universe > celestial sphere > circle of celestial sphere > [noun] > great circle > ecliptic
ecliptic linea1387
sun path1599
ecliptic1625
ecliptic circlea1679
ecliptic way1712
the world > the universe > celestial sphere > circle of celestial sphere > [noun] > lesser circle > tropic
tropic1503
tropic line1577
tropic line1667
tropic circle1893
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 9 In Armenia, Macedonia, Italia, and in oþer londes of þe same lyne.
c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) Prol. 3 The arising of any planete aftur his latitude fro the Ecliptik lyne.
?c1510 tr. Newe Landes & People founde by Kynge of Portyngale sig. Bii So haue we sayled ouer ye linie equinocciall.
1551 R. Robinson tr. T. More Vtopia sig. Bv For vnder the lyne equynoctyall..lyeth..greate and wyde desertes.
1553 R. Eden in tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India Pref. sig. aaviij The lyne, called Tropicus Cancri, and the Equinoctinal lyne.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 282 Under the Ethiop Line By Nilus head. View more context for this quotation
1668 J. Dryden Sr Martin Mar-all v. 61 I have seen your..Eclipticks, and your Tropick Lines, Sir.
1837 D. Brewster Treat. Magnetism 238 The magnetic equator will meet the equinoctial line only in two points.
b. With the: the equinoctial line; the equator. under the line: at the equator. (Sometimes written with a capital.)
ΘΠ
the world > the earth > geodetic references > [noun] > latitude > equator
burning line1484
burnt line1555
equinox1579
equinoctial1584
line1588
equatora1613
the girdle of the world1626
palaeoequator1960
1588 R. Parke tr. J. G. de Mendoza Comm. Notable Thinges in tr. J. G. de Mendoza Hist. Kingdome of China 392 (margin) The straight of Malaca is vnder the line.
1598 W. Phillip tr. J. H. van Linschoten Disc. Voy. E. & W. Indies i. iii. 5/2 The shippes are at the least two monthes before they can passe the line.
1624 J. Smith Gen. Hist. Virginia i. 1 Sebastian Cabot..sayled to about forty degrees South~ward of the lyne.
1676 J. Glanvill Ess. iii. 27 Some of the Indians that live near the heats of the Line.
1728 A. Pope Dunciad iii. 62 Where spices smoke beneath the burning Line.
1764 O. Goldsmith Traveller 5 The naked Negro, panting at the line.
1814 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1838) XII. 92 To prohibit all trade in slaves north of the Line.
1864 Ld. Tennyson Enoch Arden in Enoch Arden, etc. 33 In a darker isle beyond the line.
allusively.a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iv. i. 235. 1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII v. iii. 42. 1656 A. Cowley Misc. 35 in Poems Cold frozen Loves with which I pine, And parched Loves beneath the Line.1668 J. Flavell Saint Indeed 178 The beams of his glory strike it but obliquely and feebly, but shortly it will be under the line; and there the sun shall stand still.
11.
a. Often used for ‘straight line’ (sense 9); esp. in Physics and technical, as in line of the apsides, line of distance, line of force, line of sight (for which see those words). line of fire (see quot. 1859).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > geometry > line > [noun] > straight
linec1400
straight1892
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > [noun] > line of fire
line of fire1859
firing line1918
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xx. 90 Þe lyne þat es betwene þise twa sternez departez all þe firmament in twa partes.
1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 139 Marking diligentlye that the Center of the second Circle, be in the line of sighte.
1601 R. Dolman tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. III. 116 By meanes of the shadowes, or visuall lines, representing the saide shadowes.
1814 J. Playfair Outl. Nat. Philos. II. ii. iii. 266 The forces which act upon a body..may be resolved into the directions of three lines or axes.
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic Gloss. 778 Line of centres, a line drawn from the centre of one wheel to the centre of another when their circumferences touch each other.
1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. II. 319 Whenever the axis of a single lens comes in the line between the observers and the focus.
1859 ‘Stonehenge’ Shot-gun 314 The line of fire is the indefinite projection of the axis of the barrel.
1873 J. C. Maxwell Treat. Electr. & Magnetism I. 84 If a line be drawn whose direction at every point of its course coincides with that of the resultant force at that point, the line is called a Line of Force.
1897 Outing 30 250/1 Any number of players can take part..so long as they are not so crowded as to get into each other's line of play.
b. Fencing. (See quot. 1728.)
ΚΠ
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Line, in Fencing, is that directly opposite to the Enemy, wherein the Shoulders, the right Arm, and the Sword ought always to be found; and wherein are also to be placed the two Feet at the distance of 18 Inches from each other. In this sense a Man is said to be in his Line, to go out of his Line, &c.
c. on the line: said of a picture in an exhibition which is hung so that its centre is about on a level with the eye.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > display of pictures > [phrase] > hung with centre of picture at eye level
on the line1859
1859 T. J. Gullick & J. Timbs Painting 314 The centre of the picture should not be much above the level of the eye. In an exhibition the pictures in this most favourable situation are said to be on the ‘line’.
1873 Punch 26 Apr. 169/1 Pictures hung ‘upon the line’ at the Academy, for reason of their merit.
1895 I. Zangwill Master ii. ii. 134 And I was also on the line in the big room.
d. line of position n. = position line n. at position n. Compounds.
ΘΠ
the world > space > place > position or situation > [noun] > ascertaining or determining position of anything > line of position
position line1777
line of position1865
1865 J. H. C. Coffin Navigation & Naut. Astron. (ed. 2) ix. 224 The nearer the body is to the prime vertical, the more nearly the line of position coincides with a meridian.
1919 G. C. Comstock Summer Line p. iii The line of position, or Summer line, is generally recognized as the best method for fixing the ship's place by observation of the sun or stars.
12. In adverbial phr. (mostly obsolete) having reference to the straight line, e.g. even as line, even by line, as straight as line (now, as straight as a line), as line right, right (up) as a or any line, in (intil) ane ling (Scottish): in a direct course, straightforward; also, straightway, at once. (Cf. line-right adj. and adv.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > immediacy > [adverb]
soonc825
ratheeOE
rathelyeOE
rekeneOE
rekenlyOE
thereright971
anonOE
forth ona1000
coflyc1000
ferlyc1000
radlyOE
swiftlyc1000
unyoreOE
yareOE
at the forme (also first) wordOE
nowOE
shortlya1050
rightOE
here-rightlOE
right anonlOE
anonc1175
forthrightc1175
forthwithalc1175
skeetc1175
swithc1175
with and withc1175
anon-rightc1225
anon-rights?c1225
belivec1225
lightly?c1225
quickly?c1225
tidelyc1225
fastlyc1275
hastilyc1275
i-radlichec1275
as soon asc1290
aright1297
bedenea1300
in little wevea1300
withoute(n dwella1300
alrightc1300
as fast (as)c1300
at firstc1300
in placec1300
in the placec1300
mididonec1300
outrightc1300
prestc1300
streck13..
titec1300
without delayc1300
that stounds1303
rada1325
readya1325
apacec1325
albedenec1330
as (also also) titec1330
as blivec1330
as line rightc1330
as straight as linec1330
in anec1330
in presentc1330
newlyc1330
suddenlyc1330
titelyc1330
yernec1330
as soon1340
prestly1340
streckly1340
swithly?1370
evenlya1375
redelya1375
redlya1375
rifelya1375
yeplya1375
at one blastc1380
fresha1382
ripelyc1384
presentc1385
presently1385
without arrestc1385
readilyc1390
in the twinkling of a looka1393
derflya1400
forwhya1400
skeetlya1400
straighta1400
swifta1400
maintenantc1400
out of handc1400
wightc1400
at a startc1405
immediately1420
incontinent1425
there and then1428
onenec1429
forwithc1430
downright?a1439
agatec1440
at a tricec1440
right forth1440
withouten wonec1440
whipc1460
forthwith1461
undelayed1470
incessantly1472
at a momentc1475
right nowc1475
synec1475
incontinently1484
promptly1490
in the nonce?a1500
uncontinent1506
on (upon, in) the instant1509
in short1513
at a clap1519
by and by1526
straightway1526
at a twitch1528
at the first chop1528
maintenantly1528
on a tricea1529
with a tricec1530
at once1531
belively1532
straightwaysa1533
short days1533
undelayedly1534
fro hand1535
indelayedly1535
straight forth1536
betimesc1540
livelyc1540
upononc1540
suddenly1544
at one (or a) dash?1550
at (the) first dash?1550
instantly1552
forth of hand1564
upon the nines1568
on the nail1569
at (also in, with) a thoughtc1572
indilately1572
summarily1578
at one (a) chop1581
amain1587
straightwise1588
extempore1593
presto1598
upon the place1600
directly1604
instant1604
just now1606
with a siserary1607
promiscuously1609
at (in) one (an) instant1611
on (also upon) the momenta1616
at (formerly also on or upon) sight1617
hand to fist1634
fastisha1650
nextly1657
to rights1663
straightaway1663
slap1672
at first bolt1676
point-blank1679
in point1680
offhand1686
instanter1688
sonica1688
flush1701
like a thought1720
in a crack1725
momentary1725
bumbye1727
clacka1734
plumba1734
right away1734
momentarily1739
momentaneously1753
in a snap1768
right off1771
straight an end1778
abruptedly1784
in a whistle1784
slap-bang1785
bang?1795
right off the reel1798
in a whiff1800
in a flash1801
like a shot1809
momently1812
in a brace or couple of shakes1816
in a gird1825
(all) in a rush1829
in (also at, on) short (also quick) order1830
straightly1830
toot sweetc1830
in two twos1838
rectly1843
quick-stick1844
short metre1848
right1849
at the drop of a (occasionally the) hat1854
off the hooks1860
quicksticks1860
straight off1873
bang off1886
away1887
in quick sticks (also in a quick stick)1890
ek dum1895
tout de suite1895
bung1899
one time1899
prompt1910
yesterday1911
in two ups1934
presto changeo1946
now-now1966
presto change1987
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > a straight course > in a straight course [phrase]
even as linec1330
right (up) as a or any line1546
as straight as a line1889
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 150 After in a while com R. euen as lyne.
c1330 Arth. & Merl. 6370 (Kölbing) Þurch þe wombe & þurch þe chine Þe spere ȝede euen bi line.
c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde ii. 1412 (1461) To his Neces hous as Streyt as lyne He com.
c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde iii. 179 (228) Pandarus, as faste as he may dryue, To Troylus þo com as lyne right.
c1422 T. Hoccleve Learn to Die 692 To purgatorie y shal as streight as lyne.
c1480 (a1400) St. James Great 298 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 105 He gert fele knychtis in a lynge pryk efter þame.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xii. 49 Than sprent thai sammyn in-till a lyng [1489 Adv. ling].
a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Fox, Wolf, & Husbandman l. 2337 in Poems (1981) 88 To the volff he went in to ane ling.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid x. viii. 43 Lyke as ane lyoun..Cummys braidand on the best fast in a lyng.
1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 687 Quhilk causit him go leip furth in ane ling.
1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue i. xi. sig. Diii Thou folowist his stepps as ryght as a lyne.
1889 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms xliii He..went as straight as a line.
13.
a. A direction as traced by marks on a surface or as indicated by a row of persons or objects. to bring into (a) line: to align; figurative to cause (persons) to agree, to make unanimous. †to draw in a (or one) line: to be unanimous.
ΘΠ
the world > space > direction > [noun] > direction traced by marks on a surface
linec1475
society > communication > indication > marking > a mark > [noun] > line
streakc1000
linec1475
score1681
the world > space > relative position > quality or fact of being in a line (with) > bring into (a) line [verb (transitive)]
align1693
allineate1785
line1796
to bring into (a) line1851
parallelize1853
c1475 Chess Probl. in MS Ashm. 344 f. 22 v Draw thy kyng..forth in to the lyne ther his kyng goth yn.
1556 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbs Eng. Tounge (rev. ed.) ii. vii. sig. Evv He loued me..We drew both in one line.
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xlii. xxi. 1127 Seeing the LL. of the Senat thus drawing all in a line.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iv. iii. 153 Now Powers from home, and discontents at home Meet in one line . View more context for this quotation
1676 J. Moxon Regulæ Trium Ordinum 6 The Bottom-line is the line that bounds the bottom of the Descending Letters.
1763 E. Hoyle Ess. Game of Chess 163 When your Adversary has a Bishop and one Pawn on the Rook's Line.
1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. II. 355 As the breech sight, the muzzle sight, and the object aimed at, are..at different distances from the eye, it is difficult to bring them at once into line.
1857 G. A. Lawrence Guy Livingstone ix. 89 Livingstone..was going to get the horses in line, to start them for the farmer's Cup.
1860 T. P. Thompson Audi Alteram Partem (1861) III. ci. 2 Jonathan, too, is coming into line; his caustic wit is making its way into the press.
1897 Daily News 23 Apr. 3/1 It was found a matter of no small difficulty to get all the owners into line.
b. Military. (See quot. 1872-6.) Cf. sense 21.
ΚΠ
1796 Instr. & Regulations Cavalry 98 When the open Column, halted on the Ground on which it is to form, wheels up into Line.
1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. (at cited word) When the light infantry companies are in line with their battalions.
1872–6 G. E. Voyle Mil. Dict. (ed. 3) (at cited word) The term in line is applied to a battalion when its companies are deployed on the same alignment to their full extent, i.e. in two ranks. Columns are said to be in line when their fronts are on the same alignment.
1882 Ld. Tennyson Charge Heavy Brigade i. in Macmillan's Mag. Mar. 337 And he call'd ‘Left wheel into line!’
c. In Politics (originally U.S.), a particular policy or set of policies which a politician may maintain or expect others to follow; = party line n. Also transferred.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > party politics > [noun] > party principles or line
party line1837
party platform1848
line1892
tabernacle1902
1892 San Francisco Examiner 9 Nov. 1/7 (heading) In the line! California joins the Democratic procession by a decisive majority.
1934 H. M. Chevalier tr. A. Malraux Man's Fate 149 He knew, too, that Moscow would maintain its line.
1934 H. M. Chevalier tr. A. Malraux Man's Fate 169 ‘There's a general line that directs us—must follow it.’ ‘And give up our arms! A line that leads us to fire on the proletariat is necessarily bad.’
1938 Ken (Chicago) 7 Apr. 46/2 The Intelligence Service of the Foreign Office is a state within a state, virtually Britain's second, secret Government as far as foreign policy is concerned. It often pursues a line different from the Government's policy.
1943 San Francisco Chron. 25 May 14/2 The Nazis have done Senator Happy Chandler of Kentucky the honor of picking up his line... Chandler's line may not get far in this country, but the Nazis are not slow to appreciate it.
1944 M. Laski Love on Supertax v. 60 I think the line was made perfectly clear.
1955 Times 2 June 6/6 The issue before the court is not so much whether Mr. Lattimore is guilty under the indictment as whether such a nebulous charge as following the Communist ‘line’ is sufficiently defined to enable him to offer an adequate defence.
1958 Economist 29 Nov. 767/2 They think that the liberal line—uncontrolled immigration—can be held for a few more years, but not indefinitely.
1960 News Chron. 25 Feb. 2/5 Mr. Barber denied that a ‘line’ had been agreed on as to the shape of the reports to be sent by..British reporters.
1974 R. Hawkey & R. Bingham Wild Card xxiii. 188 The official line on what had happened was, at best, grossly understated.
d. transferred. A marked tendency, a policy or trend (in any activity). In weakened use (slang): a glib or superficially attractive mode of address or behaviour, plausible talk. So to do a line with (Australian and New Zealand), to (try to) enter into an amorous relationship with.Not clearly separable from senses 28a, 28b Cf. also to shoot a line at sense 13g.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > [noun] > agreeable behaviour > blandness or suavity > instance of
line1903
the mind > emotion > love > flirtation or coquetry > flirt with [verb (transitive)] > (try to) enter amorous relationship with
to do a line with1944
1903 ‘H. McHugh’ Out for Coin vi. 83 Are you handing me a line of bogus conversation?
1920 F. S. Fitzgerald This Side of Paradise i. ii. 76 Lordy, Isabelle—this sounds like a line, but it isn't.
1923 Cosmopolitan Apr. 82/1 ‘Where have I been all your life, good lookin'?’ ‘If you think that line will get you anything here, you're crazy!’
1933 J. G. Cozzens Cure of Flesh i. 61 He falls in love with Coral and says that some day, when he makes good, he will come back and marry her. Coral thinks it's just a line with him.
1941 Illustr. London News 198 488/2 The jacket mentions Huckleberry Finn. Mr. Baum is not, of course, on that level; but that's his line.
1941 S. J. Baker Pop. Dict. Austral. Slang 23 Do a knock (line) with: to take an amorous interest in a member of the opposite sex.
1942 T. Rattigan Flare Path i. 102 They'll think it's a line, sir.
1944 J. H. Fullarton Troop Target viii. 63 He was doing a heavy line with the saddler's daughter.
1946 F. Sargeson That Summer 91 I could do a line with Maggie.
1946 K. Tennant Lost Haven (1947) x. 156 Do you know young Len's doing a line with Gran'pa's little angel?
1953 Encounter Oct. 1/2 Appearing at this time, and amidst these problems, Encounter seeks to promote no ‘line’, though its editors have opinions they will not hesitate to express.
1956 A. L. Rowse Early Churchills ii. 33 He has a fine line in Churchillian invective.
1958 D. Reeman Prayer for Ship viii. 202 He gave me a terrific line about the hold-up. Said it was his partner's fault. But he promises definitely it'll be here tomorrow evening.
1967 Observer 6 Aug. 4/6 The sect's most telling line—plugged in all its broadcasts and pamphlets—is that the end of the world is due shortly, probably about 1975. The Arab-Israeli war in June was seen as the first step to Armageddon.
e. to get a line on, to acquire information about (a thing), to come to know. So to give (someone) a line on. colloquial (originally U.S.).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > find out, discover [verb (transitive)]
seeOE
fanda1000
finda1200
kenc1330
lenda1350
agropea1393
contrive1393
to find outc1405
outsearch?a1439
ripec1440
inventc1475
disclose?a1500
fish1531
agnize?1570
discover1585
to grope out1590
out-find1590
expiscate1598
vent1611
to learn out1629
to get to know1643
develop1653
ascertain1794
stag1796
root1866
to get a line on1903
establish1919
society > communication > information > action of informing > give (information) [verb (transitive)] > inform (a person)
to teach a person a thingc888
meanOE
wiseOE
sayOE
wittera1225
tellc1225
do to witc1275
let witc1275
let seec1330
inform1384
form1399
lerea1400
to wit (a person) to saya1400
learn1425
advertise1431
givec1449
insense?c1450
instruct1489
ascertain1490
let1490
alighta1500
advert1511
signify1523
reform1535
advise1562
partake1565
resolve1568
to do to ware1594
to let into one's knowledge1596
intellect1599
possess1600
acquainta1616
alighten1615
recommenda1616
intelligence1637
apprise1694
appraise1706
introduce1741
avail1785
prime1791
document1807
to put up1811
to put a person au fait of1828
post1847
to keep (someone) straight1862
monish1866
to put next to1896
to put (one) wise (to)1896
voice1898
in the picture1900
to give (someone) a line on1903
to wise up1905
drum1908
hip1932
to fill (someone) in on1945
clue1948
background1961
to mark a person's card1961
to loop in1994
1903 Sun (N.Y.) 18 Nov. 4 ‘These dressmakers’..cannot get a line on the styles except at the Horse Show.
1915 Literary Digest 21 Aug. (advt.) p. ii Get the right ‘line’ on the clothes the best dressed men will wear this fall.
1920 B. Cronin Timber Wolves 138 It ain't over wise to give anyone a line on to what's doing.
1923 R. D. Paine Comrades Rolling Ocean iii. 41 How about these other birds. Give me a line on them.
1927 H. V. Morton In Search of Eng. iii. § 6. 53 I don't know a darned thing about England yet,..but I'm getting a line on her, sure enough.
1928 D. L. Sayers Unpleasantness at Bellona Club xiv. 165 I did tumble to it that you'd got a line on me when you sent me down with that detective fellow to Charing Cross.
1935 P. G. Wodehouse Luck of Bodkins v. 50 If you want to get a line on how she feels, she gave me a letter to give you... Here it is.
1942 Penguin New Writing 12 85 ‘They got a line on him,’ said the R.P.
1947 Chicago Tribune 22 July 1/5 If we can find any one who saw her at a dance after 10:30 p.m. we may be able to get a line on whom she was dancing with and whose company she was in when she left.
f. to lay (or put) it on the line: (a) to hand over money; (b) to state (something) clearly, plainly, or categorically; (c) (with direct object) to put (one's career, etc.) at risk. Also with place, and the verb to be. Chiefly U.S.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > pay [verb (intransitive)] > lay down money
to show water1632
to post the cole1781
to come down with the money (dust, needful, etc.)1836
to lay (or put) it on the line1929
the mind > language > statement > state or declare [verb (transitive)] > clearly or explicitly
clarifyc1420
representc1443
define1535
express1600
to lay (or put) it on the line1954
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > endanger [verb (transitive)] > put at risk
to put in adventurec1300
jeopardc1374
wage?a1400
adventurec1400
jeopardy1447
enhazard1562
hazard1569
venture1575
impawn1613
hazardize?a1616
to put in or to a (or the) venture1638
risk1660
compromise1696
commit1738
compromit1787
to lay (or put) it on the line1968
1929 D. Runyon in Cosmopolitan Aug. 73/1 My rent is away overdue for the shovel and broom..and I have a hard-hearted landlady... She says she will give me the wind if I do not lay something on the line at once.
1940 J. O'Hara Pal Joey 100 You fellows always put it on the line for me every pay day.
1950 J. D. MacDonald Brass Cupcake i. 13 Lay it on the line. You can't take it with you... Put it on the entertainment account.
1954 J. Symons Narrowing Circle xxxvii. 188 ‘I'll see you're not the loser. You put it on the line with Jake Beverley and he'll put it on the line with you...’ ‘Let me lay it on the line then, Jake.’
1956 E. Pound tr. Sophocles Women of Trachis 17 Put it on the line, what do you know? Get it out clearly.
1967 ‘E. E. Sumner’ Chance Encounter v. 94 I'll lay it on the line for you, if you like. Are you thinking of asking my girl to marry you?
1968 M. L. King Trumpet of Conscience ii. 40 Our lives must be placed on the line if our nation is to survive its own folly.
1968 Listener 22 Feb. 244/3 America must fight in Vietnam..because it has laid its prestige on the line.
1968 Guardian 26 July 9/7 Mayor Stokes is putting his career on the line. And the people know it—they won't let him down.
1970 Guardian 9 May 2/4 It was clear to the [American] President that his credibility was on the line with the leaders in Hanoi.
1972 New Yorker 26 Aug. 17/2 He had decided to put his artistic reputation as a talented and original director of opera on the line at the outset of his American career with an unorthodox..production of Bizet's ‘Carmen’.
1972 ‘J. Quartermain’ Rock of Diamond xxiv. 153 I'll lay it on the line, Raven. You can say yes or no.
1973 Black Panther 7 July 8/3 The situation is as bad as before the takeover and it only serves to give the Indian people more reason to put their life on the line.
1973 Black Panther 6 Oct. 3/2 Egil Krogh..put it squarely on the line: ‘Anyone who opposed us we'll destroy.’
g. to shoot a line (cf. shoot v. 23g), to ‘put on an act’, to talk pretentiously, to boast. So line-shoot vb. ( line-shooting adj. and n.) and n., line-shooter; also shooter of lines. colloquial.Cf. sense 13d above.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pride > boasting or boastfulness > boast [verb (intransitive)]
yelpc888
kebc1315
glorify1340
to make avauntc1340
boast1377
brag1377
to shake boastc1380
glorya1382
to make (one's) boastc1385
crackc1470
avaunt1471
glaster1513
voust1513
to make (one's or a) vauntc1515
jet?1521
vaunt?1521
crowa1529
rail1530
devauntc1540
brave1549
vaunt1611
thrasonize1619
vapour1629
ostentate1670
goster1673
flourish1674
rodomontade1681
taper1683
gasconade1717
stump1721
rift1794
mang1819
snigger1823
gab1825
cackle1847
to talk horse1855
skite1857
to blow (also U.S. toot) one's own horn1859
to shoot off one's mouth1864
spreadeagle1866
swank1874
bum1877
to sound off1918
woof1934
to shoot a line1941
to honk off1952
to mouth off1958
blow-
the mind > emotion > pride > boasting or boastfulness > [noun] > a boast
roosec1175
avauntc1380
advancement?a1400
vauntise1477
vousta1500
puff1567
rodomontade1591
flourish1592
rodomontado1598
vauntc1600
vauntery1603
vapour1631
fanfaronade1652
gasconado1658
blow1684
gab1737
vaunting1793
windy1933
line-shoot1941
the mind > emotion > pride > boasting or boastfulness > [noun] > boaster
yelper1340
avaunterc1374
braggerc1390
fare-makerc1440
seggerc1440
shakerc1440
vaunter1484
roosera1500
praterc1500
cracker1509
vouster?a1513
boaster1574
Thrasoa1576
braggarta1577
braver1589
glorioser1589
bragout1592
rodomont1592
braggadocio1594
gloriosoc1599
puckfist1600
burgullian1601
puff1601
forthputtera1610
rodomontado1609
ostentator1611
fanfaron1622
potgun1623
thrasonist1626
cracka1640
vapourer1653
braggadocian1654
rodomontadist1655
charlatan1670
brag1671
rodomontade1683
gasconader1709
rodomontader1730
Gascon1757
spread eagle1809
bag of wind1816
penny trumpeter1828
spraga1838
gasser1855
blow-hard1857
blower1863
crower1864
gabber1869
flannel-mouth1882
punk-fist1890
skiter1898
Tartarin1903
blow1904
skite1906
poofter1916
trombenik1922
shooter of lines1941
fat-mouth1942
wide-mouth1959
Wheneye1982
trash talker1986
braggarist-
1941 N. Coward Blithe Spirit i. ii. 50 The whole thing's a put up job—I must say, though, she shoots a more original line than they generally do.
1942 Penguin New Writing 13 24 Occasionally..it publishes a serious article... But this is regarded as a ‘bind’,..while its author is invariably dismissed as a ‘line shooter’, i.e. a conceited person.
1942 Penguin New Writing 13 24 The other day..our C.O. introduced a discussion on tactical evasion by saying: ‘I do not want this to develop into a “line-shooting” competition.’
1942 R.A.F. Jrnl. 30 May 17 For keeping up the spirits, line-shooting is at least as good as beer-drinking.
1942 R.A.F. Jrnl. 30 May 17 The man who shoots a heavy line about the work he is doing is probably very keen on his job.
1943 J. L. Hunt & A. G. Pringle Service Slang 44 Lineshoot, a tall story.
1944 G. Netherwood Desert Squadron i. 2 Some of the chaps also came from other well known fighter units. From the ‘line-shooting’ that ensued, one would think that the squadron which was then in the process of formation could never hope to be as well known as the one they had left—and so on and so forth.
1944 T. H. Wisdom Triumph over Tunisia 121 One of the most thorough and decisive of the air operations in the whole campaign was carried out by the Hurri-bombers. And this is no squadron line-shoot.
1946 G. Gibson Enemy Coast Ahead 144 These things were happening every night, so there was nothing to shoot a line about.
1951 M. Kennedy Lucy Carmichael vii. iv. 377 When Melissa shoots a line..don't protest or argue. Take it up and embroider it.
1952 T. Rattigan Deep Blue Sea i. 38 Funny thing about gongs... They don't mean a damn thing in war—except as a line-shoot, but in peace time they're quite useful.
1958 Times Lit. Suppl. 3 Oct. 564/2 A champion shooter of lines. In a party of outstanding climbers and travellers he could be relied on to cap any story.
1960 Times 19 July 18/4 One must bear in mind that what his Lordship had called..‘shooting a line’ was not necessarily inconsistent with a genuine belief.
1960 V. Gielgud To Bed at Noon i. xi. 73 He believed Tom to have been line-shooting as far as his swimming prowess was concerned.
1973 Listener 15 Mar. 342/1 [He] was an awful line-shooter. He claimed to have been at Oxford, but..he hadn't been at Oxford.
1973 Times 20 Sept. 20/8 He was awarded (his friends thought inadequately) the MBE by the British and by the French the Croix de Guerre. He never shot a line about his escapades but made them into entertaining stories.
14.
a. Contour, outline; lineament.
ΘΠ
the world > space > shape > [noun] > contour(s)
lineationa1398
lineament1570
line1590
purfle1601
lineature1630
stroke1638
stell1657
outline1662
profile1664
contour1770
lineamentation1890
galbe1899
1590 R. Greene Mourning Garment 11 Seeming him was his wife, Both in line and in life.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) iv. i. 9 The Lines of my body are as well drawne as his. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) i. i. 95 Euerie line and tricke of his sweet fauour. View more context for this quotation
1819 P. B. Shelley Lines Euganean Hills in Rosalind & Helen 70 The dim low line before Of a dark and distant shore.
1844 A. W. Kinglake Eothen viii. 138 The line of my features.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iv. 450 The savage lines of his mouth.
1891 Truth 10 Dec. 1240/2 The skirt falling in straight, plain lines to the ground.
1894 H. Caine Manxman v. iii. 286 The round line of the sea was bleared and broken.
b. Fashion. The outline or dominant features of composition of a dress or suit. Frequently with qualifying term or preceded by a letter of the alphabet (to indicate the outline shape of the garment). Cf. sense 23a below.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > [noun] > outline of
line1918
silhouette1920
1918 in C. W. Cunnington Eng. Women's Clothes (1952) iv. 141 What was called the ‘barrel line’ brought out by Callot two seasons ago..certainly is a lovely line.
1930 Times 13 Mar. 11/6 The curved line was seen in all the long coats.
1930 Times 27 Mar. 11/6 There is a distinguished coat in black matasol, which has a slimming line.
1932 Punch's Almanack 7 Nov. 8 (caption) The line of to day.
1955 Britannica Bk. of Year 489/2 Fashion produced a new ‘line’ in women's clothes, the H-line.
1958 Woman's Own 24 Dec. 14/3 Which year brought out the following trends: (a) the New Look; (b) the Trapeze Line; (c) the A-line.
1968 J. Ironside Fashion Alphabet 92 Line, the silhouette of a garment that makes it look fashionable or unfashionable.
1968 Harrods Xmas Catal. 15/2 An Empire line slip in nylon.
1970 Oxf. Times 25 Sept. 11/5 She wore a full length white empire line dress with a guipure lace bodice and circular train trimmed with guipure lace.
1975 Vogue 1 Mar. 84/1 Overall, a clear narrowing of the silhouette, most marked at Saint Laurent, presaging an even sparer line for autumn.
15. plural.
a. The outlines, plan, or draught of a building or other structure; spec. in Shipbuilding, the outlines of a vessel as shown in its horizontal, vertical, and oblique sections. (Also figurative)
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > shipbuilding and repairing > [noun] > shipbuilding > lines, sections, or elevations
middle line?c1400
sweep1627
lines1680
touch1711
waterline1750
station1754
sheer-draught1769
body plan1781
sheer-line1797
sheer-plan1797
touchline1797
water plane1798
centreline1806
buttock line1816
crown1830
scrieve1830
top-breadth line1846
wave-line1846
floor-plan1867
society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > drawing plans or diagrams > [noun] > a plan or diagram > outline drawing
draught1593
ground-lines1624
lines1680
1680 W. Temple Ess. Advancem. Trade Ireland in Wks. (1731) I. 121 The raising such Buildings as I have drawn you here the Lines of.
1691 T. Hale Acct. New Inventions p. xiii Nor have I heard of any other Ship built by the Kings-fisher's Lines.
1776 G. Semple Treat. Building in Water 66 The principal Lines of my Design of a Bridge suitable to that Place.
1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India II. iv. v. 188 Carnac..remained..to lend his countenance and aid to measures, the line of which he had contributed to draw.
1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. II. 336 Model of a ship's hull... The novelty claimed in the uniformity of its lines.
1861 C. Reade Cloister & Hearth III. vi. 162 Her extravagant poop that caught the wind, and her lines like a cocked hat reversed.
b. figurative. Plan of construction, of action, or procedure: now chiefly in on (such and such) lines.
ΘΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > [noun] > a plan
redeeOE
devicec1290
casta1300
went1303
ordinancec1385
intentc1386
imaginationa1393
drifta1535
draught1535
forecast1535
platform1547
ground-plat?a1560
table1560
convoy1565
design1565
plat1574
ground-plota1586
plot1587
reach1587
theory1593
game1595
projectment1611
projecting1616
navation1628
approach1633
view1634
plan1635
systema1648
sophism1657
manage1667
brouillon1678
speculationa1684
sketch1697
to take measures1698
method1704
scheme1704
lines1760
outline1760
measure1767
restorative1821
ground plan1834
strategy1834
programme1837
ticket1842
project1849
outline plan1850
layout1867
draft1879
dart1882
lurk1916
schema1939
lick1955
1760 E. Burke Ess. Abridgm. Eng. Hist. 13 In all very uncultivated countries..there are but obscure lines of any form of government.
1807 S. Cooper (title) The First Lines of the Practice of Surgery; being an elementary work for Students [etc.].
1858 C. Merivale Hist. Romans under Empire VI. lv. 330 The lines of their policy are often to be traced for the most part by conjecture and inference.
1875 C. Merivale Gen. Hist. Rome li. 404 He did not live to lay even the first lines of the great work.
1879 J. A. Froude Cæsar viii. 80 He had reorganised the constitution on the most strictly conservative lines.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. II. lxi. 432 Nearly all these offices are contested on political lines.
1889 A. C. Swinburne Stud. Prose & Poetry (1894) 286 No later work of Victor Hugo's, written on the same lines or in the same temper, can reasonably be set beside the Châtiments.
16.
a. [After French ligne.] A measure of length, the twelfth part of an inch.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > [noun] > units of length or distance > inch > one twelfth of an inch
line1665
prime1703
scruple1802
second1842
1665 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 1 61 It did bear but 2 inches and 9 lines French for its greatest Aperture.
1759 tr. M. Adanson Voy. Senegal 101 I was informed, that there fell two inches three lines of water.
1849 Sketches Nat. Hist.: Mammalia IV. 62 The Long-tailed Field-Mouse... Length of head and body three inches eight lines.
1863 M. J. Berkeley Handbk. Brit. Mosses i. 3 Varying from less than a line to many inches in length.
b. In recent technical use (see quot. 1880).
Π
1880 L. S. Floyer Plain Hints Examiners Needlework 133 Button Gauge... The numbers indicate the quantity of ‘lines’ in diameter. This ‘line’ is equal to the French millimetre.
17.
a. A limit, boundary; more fully, line of demarcation. to draw the line (see draw v. Phrases 9); also, with similar meaning, to lay, form a line. to run the lines (U.S.): see run v. 67.
ΘΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > edge, border, or margin > boundary > [noun]
goalc1350
bounda1387
list1389
finea1400
frontier1413
enda1425
limit1439
buttal1449
headroom1462
band1470
mete?1473
buttinga1475
bounder1505
pale?a1525
butrelle1546
scantlet1547
limesa1552
divisec1575
meta1587
line1595
marginc1595
closure1597
Rubicon1613
bournea1616
boundary1626
boundure1634
verge1660
terminary1670
meta1838
1595 G. Markham Most Honorable Trag. Sir R. Grinuile sig. E7v And now the night grew neere her middle line.
a1609 J. Dennys Secrets of Angling (1613) i. iv. sig. B1v Of Heauen the middle Line, That makes of equall length both day and night.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Line Line of Demarcation, or Alexandrian Line.
1733 A. Pope Ess. Man i. 210 And middle Natures, how they long to join, Yet never pass th' insuperable Line!
1769 E. Burke Observ. Late State Nation 67 Their different principles compose some of the strongest political lines which discriminate the parties even now subsisting amongst us.
1770 J. Reynolds Disc. Royal Acad. (1876) iii. 33 It is this intellectual dignity..that ennobles the Painter's art; that lays the line between him and the mere mechanic.
1840 H. H. Wilson Mill's Brit. India (ed. 4) I. i. iii. 69 To form a line between them and the Company, it was ordained, that [etc.].
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. i. 30 The line which bounded the royal prerogative.
1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days ii. vii. 366 Hold on and hit away, only don't hit under the line.
1878 T. H. Huxley Physiography (ed. 2) xviii. 303 The lines of separation of the great watersheds.
b. the line: = Mason–Dixon line n. at Mason–Dixon n. 1.
ΘΠ
the world > the earth > named regions of earth > America > North America > [noun] > United States > Mason-Dixon line
Mason–Dixon line1776
Mason–Dixon1834
the line1845
1845 F. Douglass Narr. Life F. Douglass xi. 101 We owe something to the slaves south of the line as well as to those north of it.
1861 J. R. Lowell E Pluribus Unum in Prose Wks. (1889) V. 51.
1909 ‘O. Henry’ Roads of Destiny xxi. 358 If you had come from below the line I reckon I would have liked you right smart.
1949 Sat. Evening Post 26 Mar. 38/2 The critic thunders, and below ‘the line’ the shades of Marse Robert and Jeff Davis inevitably are summoned forth to meet the charge.
c. Bridge. A line across a scorecard. So above the line, denoting points scored for game, honours, overtricks, or rubber, or for the failure of opponents to fulfil their contract; below the line, denoting points scored for tricks bid and won, and counting towards game.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > bridge > [adjective] > points
below the line1905
above the line1933
1905 H. A. Vachell Hill vii. 144 My partner..made the Little Slam, and scored nearly six hundred below the line.
1908 Westm. Gaz. 24 Dec. 14/2 Suppose the contract is two in hearts, and four by cards are made, the contracting side score 32 below the line, and game. If the contract had failed, and say two by cards had been lost, the adversaries would score 200 in their honour column.
1927 M. C. Work Contract Bridge ii. 9 The basic theory of Contract, viz., that Declarer may score below the line (toward game) only as many odd tricks as he has contracted to win.
1933 A. G. Macdonell England, their England vi. 78 Gone down 650 points above the line whereas he ought to have made two no-trumps.
1967 P. Anderton Play Bridge i. 15 They win ten tricks so they score three times the value of Spades below the line, i.e. 90 points plus another 30 points above the line as a bonus for making one more than their contract.
1970 S. Hughes Art of Coarse Bridge i. 12 This kind of spectacular finale happens far more often than one might expect, but it takes an awful lot of scoring above the line before anyone actually has..the right cards to do it with.
d. In phrases indicating the boundary between a debit and a credit in one's account, or between ordinary and extraordinary expenditure. (See also quot. 1973.) Also to pay on the line, to pay promptly.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > pay [verb (intransitive)] > pay promptly
to pay on the line1934
society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > account or statement of > [noun] > account book > line
line1934
bottom line1973
1934 J. O'Hara Appointment in Samarra i. 20 There were only a few of the Lantenengo crowd who could get a favour out of Ed without paying cash on the line for it.
1938 S. V. Benét Thirteen o'Clock 249 I kept on schedule with the work, but I couldn't with the money. Each week, I'd be just a little over the line.
1940 Economist 13 Apr. 683/1 The figures ‘below the line’ in the Exchequer Return show the result of the issue of the 4 per cent.
1948 Economist 31 Jan. 195/1 Aggregate Government expenditure, including..the ‘below line’ expenditure.
1959 N. Mailer Advts. for Myself (1961) 66 I paid on the line every time.
1966 A. Gilpin Dict. Econ. Terms 1 Since 1947 it has been customary for the British Budget to contain a full statement of the estimated expenditure and revenue for the following year, some items being shown as ‘above-the-line’..and others as ‘below-the-line’. Most current items appear above the line and most capital items below.
1973 New Society 28 June 736/2 The growth of petrol promotions has coincided with a growth of giveaways, gimmicks and competitions in the marketing of a wide range of products... Termed ‘below-the-line’ marketing, it is encroaching on the ‘above-the-line’ (advertising) share of manufacturers' marketing budgets.
e. bottom line: see bottom line n. 2b.
18. Degree, rank, station. Obsolete.
ΘΠ
society > society and the community > social class > [noun]
estatec1230
statec1300
rowa1350
qualityc1425
calling1477
range1494
line1528
stature1533
respect1601
station1603
gradationa1616
ordinancea1616
repute1615
spherea1616
distance1635
impression1639
civils1650
footing1657
regimen1660
order1667
sect1709
caste1791
status1818
position1829
social status1833
standpoint1875
1528 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 121 Skiparis and seruandis of euery lyne.
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 i. iii. 166 To shew the line and the predicament, Wherein you range vnder this subtil king. View more context for this quotation
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. ii. 85 And in that very line Harry standest thou. View more context for this quotation
1782 T. Paine Let. to Abbe Raynal (1791) 37 One whom years, experience, and long established reputation have placed in a superior line.
1785 G. A. Bellamy Apol. Life (ed. 3) IV. 46 She..had received a more liberal education than is usually bestowed upon English women in the middle line of life.
III. Applied to things arranged along a (straight) line.
19.
a. A row or series of persons or objects. spec. = queue n. 7a (U.S.). Also elliptical = ‘receiving line’ (U.S.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > arrangement in (a) row(s) or line(s > [noun] > a line or row
reweOE
rowc1225
ranka1325
rengec1330
ordera1382
rulec1384
rangea1450
ray1481
line1557
tier1569
train1610
string1713
rail1776
windrow1948
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > arrangement in (a) row(s) or line(s > [noun] > a line or row > queue
queue1837
tail1837
line1930
1557 R. Record Whetstone of Witte sig. Hii Men call a line of Brickes, and a line of Asshelers stones, when many bee laied in a rowe, in lengthe.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iv. i. 133 What will the Line stretch out to' th' cracke of Doome? View more context for this quotation
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 63. ¶4 The Officers planting themselves in a Line on the left Hand of each Column.
1718 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 28 Aug. (1965) I. 430 The street..is perhaps the most beautifull line of Building in the World.
1776 Trial Maha Rajah Nundocomar for Forgery 57/2 The bond was wrote obliquely, from right hand to left, the seals in a line, on the margin.
1836 W. Irving Astoria III. 260 A line of trading posts from the Mississippi and the Missouri across the Rocky mountains.
1840 T. Hood Up Rhine 29 Trees in formal line.
1853 M. Arnold Scholar Gipsy in Poems (new ed.) 209 The line of festal light in Christ-Church hall.
1863 J. W. Carlyle Lett. III. 158 In the whole line of the procession.
1879 S. C. Bartlett Egypt to Palestine xiv. 301 The valley..enclosed by lower lines of hills than [etc.].
1903 N.Y. Tribune 4 Oct. She has had several years' experience ‘behind the line’, and will doubtless be of great assistance to Mrs Roosevelt.
1930 M. Sullivan Our Times III. xii. 502 People..were herded by policemen into lines stretching away from the marble entrance.
1969 D. C. Hague Managerial Econ. xi. 222 The second kind of stock problem is the queueing problem... A queue (what Americans call a ‘line’)..will form.
1974 State (Columbia, S. Carolina) 15 Feb. 1– b/2 At least one employe went as far away as Forest Drive for gasoline and nearby stations, selling gasoline, quickly acquired lines.
1975 N.Y. Times 1 Apr. 35/5 It's to stand silently on unemployment lines with other surplus members of America's work force, waiting to sign for your unemployment check.
b. A fancy name for: A flock of geese.
Π
1802 W. B. Daniel Rural Sports II. 465 [Geese in flight] form two oblique lines like the letter V, or if their number be small, only one line.]
1882 Standard 10 Feb. 5/3 To speak by the book, of a ‘line’ instead of a ‘flock’ of geese.
c. A row of machines or work stations where a product is progressively assembled, or a succession of operations performed on it, as it passes from one end to the other during manufacture or processing. Cf. assembly line n., production line n.
ΘΠ
society > occupation and work > workplace > factory > [noun] > assembly or production line
production line1905
assembly line1914
line1926
track1931
transfer line1956
1926 Encycl. Brit. II. 822/1 All of these lines, with their various machines and operations, are converging on the point where the leaves are assembled into springs.
1937 Times 13 Apr. p. xii/2 The raw material is delivered at one end of the machining line with the component passing from machine to machine until it reaches the view table.
1940 War Illustr. 16 Feb. 113 In one of Britain's ‘shadow’ factories bombers on the line will soon be ready to take the air.
1971 Cabinet Maker & Retail Furnisher 24 Sept. 531/1 Features of the production facilities at the new factory..include a fully automated machining line and the longest finishing line in the U.K.
d. In business or management organization, the chain of command or responsibility; the persons responsible for the administration and organization of a business (as opposed to the staff). Hence line manager, line management.
ΘΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to status > [noun] > overseer or foreman
stewarda1400
surveyorc1440
supervisorc1454
overlookera1513
workmaster1525
supervisora1529
foreman1574
superintendent1575
overman1606
headman1725
overseer1766
gang leader1775
hagmaster1797
maistry1798
gangsman1803
kangany1817
capataz1826
gangman1830
ganger1836
gaffer1841
gang boss1863
ramrod1881
charge-man1885
mandor1885
captain1886
overganger1887
ephor1890
pusher1901
gangster1913
line manager1960
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to status > [noun] > manager > responsible for administration
line manager1960
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to status > [noun] > manager > responsible for administration > collectively
line management1960
1960 L. C. Nanassy & W. H. Selden Business Dict. 27 Following are the basic types of internal organization of a business: (1) line: The owner gives orders directly to the workers. As the business grows, the owner appoints a few executives, who are responsible to him... (3) line-and-staff: Authority flows from top to bottom, with responsibility falling on staff supervisors and special experts.
1964 J. M. Argyle Psychol. & Social Probl. viii. 111 In several British factories it was found that the division between ‘line’ supervisors and ‘staff’ technicians tended to disappear—technologists must have supervisory responsibility.
1967 C. Margerison in G. Wills & R. Yearsley Handbk. Managem. Technol. 25 The accountants considered that they had responsibility for the end-product and sought to control certain actions of line managers. Line managers resented this interference with their authority and started to obstruct the accountants in their ordinary accounting function.
1967 L. Coulthard & B. Smith in G. Wills & R. Yearsley Handbk. Managem. Technol. 206 A good deal of the failure of these techniques stems from the inability of personnel men to convince line management of their own vital role combined with the assumption by line management that the creation of a specialist department covering personnel policies, training, management development, etc., automatically relieves them of responsibility.
1972 Accountant 28 Sept. 391/1 If the internal auditor sees himself as a someone who can review and report upon the functions of line management on matters other than security, then there is one fundamental issue that has to be faced.
1974 Times 25 Mar. 17/4 It was a pity that so few line managers were present as it was their present and future competence that was being discussed.
20. Military.
a. A trench or rampart; plural (also collective singular), a connected series of field-works. Also, one of the rows of huts or tents in a camp or cantonment (see quots. 1872-6, 1876). line of circumvallation, line of defence, etc.: see the second nouns.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > [noun] > series of fortifications
counter-line1598
line1665
trocha1896
society > armed hostility > military organization > logistics > quartering > [noun] > encamping > row of tents
line1665
1665 T. Manley tr. H. Grotius De Rebus Belgicis 613 The Line that incompassed his Camp was 8 Foot high.
1695 M. Prior Eng. Ballad 5 Regain the Lines the shortest way, Villeroy.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 139. ⁋7 He took the French Lines without Bloodshed.
1793 R. Burns in G. Thomson Sel. Coll. Orig. Sc. Airs I. i. 22 I left the lines, and tented field.
1839 T. Keightley Hist. Eng. (new ed.) I. 352 Lines were now run from bastille to bastille, and the town was completely shut in.
1846 H. H. Wilson Hist. Brit. India 1805–35 II. i. 21 To attack the Gorkha positions at the western extremity of their line.
1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (1862) 263 Lines are formed for the entrenchment of armies, and are composed of a succession of redans, &c. (joined by curtains).
1872–6 G. E. Voyle Mil. Dict. In India..a cantonment contains barracks for European troops, and native huts termed lines for the Sepoys.
1876 Murray's Handbk. Surrey, Hants., Isle of Wight (ed. 3) 173 In the North Camp [Aldershot] the buildings are principally of wood, arranged in ‘lines’..which are lettered from A to Q. Each line is an oblong block of about 40 huts.
figurative.1835 I. Taylor Spiritual Despotism v. 220 They hastened to entrench themselves within the lines of absolute despotism.
b. In the war of 1914–18, the trenches collectively; the front line. So up the line (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > armed encounter > battlefield > [noun] > front or front line
edge1535
front1665
firing line1859
Eastern Front1914
Western Front1914
line1916
second front1941
warfront1950
society > armed hostility > armed encounter > battlefield > [adverb] > at or to front
out front1865
up the line1916
out there1917
1916 H. W. Fowler Let. 5 Mar. in S.P.E. Tract (Soc. for Pure Eng.) (1935) No. 43. 136 What may be going on up the line who knows?
1917 W. Owen Let. 4 Feb. (1967) 430 I am now indeed and in truth very far behind the Line; sent down to this old Town [sc. Abbeville] for a Course in Transport Duties.
1917 A. G. Empey Over Top 313Up the line.’ Term generally used in rest billets when Tommy talks about the fire trench or fighting line.
1919 W. H. Downing Digger Dial. 52 Up the line, in action. ‘Up the line, with the best of luck’—a satirical phrase applied to men who, after being for some time in a safe occupation, were returned to fighting units.
1964 B. Gardner (title) Up the line to death.
21.
a. Military and Nautical. A row or rank of soldiers (distinguished from a column); a row of ships in a certain order. Also occasionally collective singular = ships of the line. line of battle: see battle n. 12. ship of the line: a line-of-battle ship.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > navy > a naval force or fleet > [noun] > formations of ships
battalia1613
line of battle1695
line1704
column1805
open order1805
society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > [noun] > line
rengec1330
ray1481
ranka1533
hay1684
line1801
1704 London Gaz. No. 4054/1 Their Line consisted of 52 Ships and 24 Gallies.
1706 London Gaz. No. 4222/3 He had then 30 Ships of the Line,..besides two or three Frigats.
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine at Abreast When the line is formed abreast, the whole squadron advances uniformly, the ships being equally distant from, and parallel to each other, so that the length of each ship forms a right angle with the extent of the squadron or line abreast.
1801 Asiatic Ann. Reg. 1800 Characters 56/2 Lord Cornwallis put him in command of the second line of the army.
1801 T. Campbell Battle of Baltic ii While the sign of battle flew On the lofty British line.
1805 in A. Duncan Life of Nelson (1806) 231 We have only 11 line, 3 frigates, and a sloop.
1813 R. Southey Life Nelson vi The fleet from Cadiz.. consisting of from seventeen to twenty sail of the line.
1815 Ld. Byron We do not curse thee, Waterloo iii While the broken line enlarging, Fell or fled along the plain.
1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Leila iv. i. 172 Suddenly the lines of the Moors gave way.
b. With the: in the British army, the regular and numbered troops as distinguished from the guards and the auxiliary forces; in the U.S. army, the regular fighting force of all arms.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > armed forces > [noun] > regular
line1802
society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > branch of army > [noun] > regular troops
line1802
1802 C. James New Mil. Dict.
1813 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1838) XI. 141 To prevent the men from volunteering to serve in the line.
1849 Chambers's Information for People (new ed.) II. 184/2 The pay of a private..in the cavalry of the line [is] 1s. 4d..in the infantry of the line, 1s. 1d.
1859 E. Bulwer-Lytton What will he do with It? (1st Edinb. ed.) I. ii. v. 177 Then Charlie Haughton sold out of the Guards..[and] went into the Line.
1865–6 H. Phillips Amer. Paper Currency II. 148 The Connecticut line..assembled to return to their homes and leave the army to its fate.
1881 J. Grant Cameronians I. iii. 37 The new head-dress for the Line.
c. all along the line, all (the way) down the line: at every point. Also, somewhere along the line, at some point (in time).
ΘΠ
the world > space > place > here, there, etc. > [phrase] > everywhere
far and near or nighOE
in length and (in) breadth (or brede)a1250
high and low1525
here, there, and everywherea1593
in every stead1596
through long and broad ——1617
from Dan to Beersheba1738
all along the line1877
all over the auction1930
the world > time > particular time > [adverb] > at some time
somewhilea1240
somewhilec1250
somewhen1297
sometime1600
first and last1719
one of these fine days1762
some fine day1762
somewhere along the line1962
the world > time > frequency > [adverb] > always or in every case
alwayeOE
aldayOE
everOE
by night and (by) daylOE
ayc1175
algatea1200
alwaysc1225
everylikec1225
stillc1297
evermorea1300
algatesa1325
alikec1330
early and latec1330
at all assaysc1360
universallya1398
likec1400
continuallyc1460
tidely1482
ay-whenc1485
from time to (formerly unto) timea1500
at all seasons1526
at once1563
at every turn1565
throughout1567
still still1592
still1594
still and anona1616
still an enda1616
every stitch-while1620
everlastingly1628
constantly1651
everywhen1655
eternally1670
allus1739
any day (of the week)1759
everly1808
allers1833
every time1854
toujours1902
all (the way) down the line1975
1877 C. H. Spurgeon Serm. XXIII. 246 God will be victorious all along the line in the present battle.
1880 T. Hodgkin Italy & her Invaders I. i. i. 117 The campaign of 378 opened auspiciously for the interests of Rome along the whole line.
1924 R. Fry Let. 27 June (1972) II. 553 Both he and Courbet did elaborate portraits of the same patron... Courbet wins all along the line.
1936 A. Huxley Eyeless in Gaza xxi. 297 A refugee from Germany... Aryan, but communist—ardently and all along the line.
1962 J. Wain Sprightly Running v. 189 There is always the wistful hope..that these young will not merely benefit from meeting each other, but will, somewhere along the line, actually be taught something.
1965 Listener 16 Sept. 402/2 It is difficult to estimate its direct effect, because all along the line there are people working hard to try to make sure that those defects do not come back on the patient.
1965 New Yorker 20 Nov. 162/3 Somewhere along the line, the surf and wind went out of his playing.
1969 B. Turner Circle of Squares xviii. 143 I've helped him all along the line, not always knowing why.
1972 Guardian 6 July 2/2 It has been clear that they had had to refer to Moscow for instructions all along the line.
1975 N. Luard Robespierre Serial xi. 87 You've lied to me, all the way down the line.
1975 N. Luard Robespierre Serial xvi. 146 I'm not going to let that little bastard get away with it. He's screwed us all down the line from Riyadh to Geneva.
22. A regular succession of public conveyances plying between certain places; e.g. the Cunard line (of steamers), the White Star line. Originally U.S.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > public passenger transport > [noun] > regular succession of public conveyances
line1786
society > travel > travel by water > transportation by water > [noun] > shipping business or trade > shipping line
line1848
surf line1848
sailing-line1905
shipping line1908
flag line1944
1786 Mass. Centinel (Boston) 11 Jan. 3/1 The new arrangement ordered by Congress, for the more safe and regular conveyance of the Mails, by the line of stages.
1818 Niles' Reg. 14 14/2 A regular line of waggons and packets are established between the city of New-York and Detroit.
1832 in Amer. State Papers (1834) XV. 348 The line of stages connecting Philadelphia and Delaware with the Eastern shore of Maryland and Virginia.
1837 W. Jenkins Ohio Gazetteer 56 The post office is supplied by daily lines of Coaches from Cincinnati to Dayton.
1848 Chambers's Information for People (new ed.) I. 424/2 Lines of large steamers are got up by companies as a speculation.
1900 F. T. Bullen Idylls of Sea 198 The better class of seamen will be found making voyage after voyage in the same vessel or at least in the same line.
1901 Scotsman 2 Mar. 10/1 The first vessel of the new direct line to Jamaica from England.
23. A row of written or printed letters.
a. gen. One of the rows of letters in any piece of writing or letterpress: often, esp. in plural, put for the contents or sense of what is written or printed. line by line, line for line: from beginning to end, seriatim; also, with hyphens, attributive. (For line for line in Fashion cf. sense 14b). to read between the lines: to discover a meaning or purpose not obvious or explicitly expressed in a piece of writing.
ΘΠ
society > communication > book > matter of book > [noun] > a line in a book
lineOE
rewOE
staff-rewOE
rowc1450
society > communication > writing > written text > layout > [noun] > line
lineOE
rowc1450
trait1572
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > truthfulness, veracity > [adjective] > following original exactly
line by line1487
perfect1523
verbal1598
sound1599
verya1616
literala1627
verbatim1651
undepraved1686
literatim1774
letter-perfect1867
line for line1876
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > explanation, exposition > interpretation > interpret [verb (transitive)]
unloukOE
areadOE
spele?c1225
inredec1315
expounda1340
construe1399
interpretate1517
explain1538
scan1562
disentraverse1610
unspherea1616
explicate1628
spell1635
disenvelop1741
extract1775
interpret1795
clarify1823
read1847
to read between the lines1866
OE Riddle 42 10 Þær sceal Nyd wesan twega oþer ond se torhta Æsc an an linan, Acas twegen, Hægelas swa some.
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. viii. 94 Þe Bulle In two lynes hit lay and not a lettre more.
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. v. 428 In canoun ne in þe decretales I can nouȝte rede a lyne.
a1400–50 Alexander 1821 Loo ‘litill thefe’ in ilka lyne his lettir me callis.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xvii. 84 Quhen the marschall the cowyne Till bath the lordis lyne be lyne Had tald.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) iii. i. 1 Com'st thou with deepe pre~meditated Lines? With written Pamphlets? View more context for this quotation
1638 R. Baker tr. J. L. G. de Balzac New Epist. III. 100 The good opinion you have of me, which is to be seene in every lyne of your Letter.
1711 London Gaz. No. 4807/4 Let him send a Line or two directed to the Blue Anchor and Crown.
1713 H. Felton Diss. Reading Classics 109 Two Lines would express all they say in two Pages.
1713 R. Steele Englishman No. 53. 344 Clerks amongst us make distant Lines, few words in those Lines.
1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. (at cited word) (In the plural) A letter; as, I read your lines.
1813 J. Austen Pride & Prejudice II. iii. 35 Not a note, not a line, did I receive in the mean time. View more context for this quotation
1816 C. Wolfe Burial Sir J. Moore 31 We carved not a line, and we raised not a stone.
1856 J. W. Carlyle Lett. II. 299 The distance between your lines in the letter just come.
1866 J. Martineau Ess. Philos. & Theol. 1st Ser. 118 No writer..was ever more read between the lines.
1876 J. Weiss Wit, Humor, & Shakespeare iii. 78 There was a worthy old deacon, who, repeating Watts's hymn line for line after his clergyman, said, ‘Return, ye rancid sinners!’
1879 J. A. Froude Cæsar xiv. 194 In every line that he wrote Cicero was attitudinising for posterity.
1880 C. H. Spurgeon Serm. XXVI. 327 They do not say as much to their secret selves; but you can read between the lines these words—‘What a weariness it is!’
1886 Manch. Examiner 19 Jan. 5/4 People who have not the shrewdness to read a little between the lines..are grievously misled.
1896 T. L. De Vinne in Moxon's Mech. Exerc. (new ed.) I. p. xviii A line-for-line and page-for-page reprint of the original text.
1934 T. S. Eliot Elizabethan Ess. 17 A line-by-line examination of almost any Elizabethan play..would be a fruitful exercise.
1951 L. MacNeice tr. J. W. von Goethe Faust 9 I aimed at a line-for-line translation.
1958 Sunday Times 19 Oct. 25/1Line for line’ copies of French models are the current high fashion rage in New York.
1964 E. A. Nida Toward Sci. Translating ii. 17 Dryden felt that there were three basic types of translation: (1) metaphrase, a word-for-word and line-for-line type of rendering; (2) paraphrase..; and (3) imitation.
1969 Guardian 29 July 7/3 Line-for-line copies of his [couture] collection.
1971 Computers & Humanities 6 7 Comparisons are made on a line-for-line basis.
1971 Gloss. Electrotechnical, Power Terms (B.S.I.) iii. iv. 13 Line by line scanning, scanning in which the sweep is effected in straight, substantially horizontal strips extending over the entire width of the picture.
1973 Country Life 6 Dec. 1970/1 A perfect line-for-line copy of a couture Dior trouser suit.
figurative.?1573 L. Lloyd Pilgrimage of Princes f. 210 Death is the laste line of all thyng.
b. spec. in Printing. A row of types or quads.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > types, blocks, or plates > relating to type > composed type > [noun] > row
line1659
1659 C. Hoole tr. J. A. Comenius Visible World (1672) 191 The Compositor..composeth words in a composing stick, till a Line be made.
1676 J. Moxon Regulæ Trium Ordinum 11 You must indent your Line four Spaces.
1676 J. Moxon Regulæ Trium Ordinum 1 It is not graceful to end a Break with a short word onely in a line.
1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. Dict. 394 White-line, a Line of Quadrats.
1841 W. Savage Dict. Art of Printing 310 Head line, the top line of a page in which is the running title and folio, but sometimes only a folio.
c. collective. A written record, message, etc. Obsolete.
ΘΠ
society > communication > writing > written text > [noun] > written record, message
linea1400
a1400–50 Alexander 1932 [He] Vn-lappis liȝtly þe lefe & þe line [v.r. lines] redes.
a1400–50 Alexander 2060 And vneth limpid him þe lee þe lyne me recordis.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 9628 The Secund day suyng, sais me the lyne, Þe Troiens full tymli tokyn þe feld.
d. A few words in writing; often applied to a short letter.
ΘΠ
society > communication > correspondence > letter > [noun] > short letter or note
schedule1397
billet1579
breviate1596
notea1616
line1647
letterling1781
letteret1799
letterlet1812
notelet1823
epistolet1824
notekin1861
1647 H. Markham Let. in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 3 I..desire a line under your own hand to whom I shall deliver the castle.
1751 G. Berkeley Let. 25 July in Wks. (1871) IV. 326 A line from me in acknowledgment of your letter.
1775 J. Adams Wks. (1854) IX. 352 I have this morning received a line from Mrs. Warren.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 415 History was too much occupied with courts and camps to spare a line for the hut of the peasant or for the garret of the mechanic.
1865 J. W. Carlyle Lett. III. 279 Dearest,—Just a line to say that all goes well.
1894 Mrs. H. Ward Marcella II. iii. iii. 307 Marcella scribbled a line on a half-sheet of paper, and..despatched Benny with it.
e. The portion of a metrical composition which is usually written in one line: a verse; plural verses, poetry. Also plural, (so many) lines of verse (sometimes, of prose) set to be written out as an imposition in school. to read the line (Sc.): to give out the words of a metrical psalm or hymn a line at a time (cf. line v.2 6).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > poem or piece of poetry > [noun] > poems or poems collectively
makinga1393
poetryc1395
rhymea1400
poetryc1475
line?1566
numbers1579
harping1819
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > part of poem > [noun] > line
versec900
staffc1450
line?1566
numeral1605
stich1723
stike-
society > authority > punishment > other types of punishment > [noun] > school punishment > written exercise or lines
imposition1746
poena1842
line1894
?1566–7 G. Buchanan Opinion Reformation Univ. St. Andros in Vernacular Writings (1892) 8 The regent sal cause thayme to writ twa or thre lynis of Terence.
1594 M. Drayton Ideas Mirrour xxix. sig. E3 And in my lynes if shee my loue may see.
1623 B. Jonson in W. Shakespeare Comedies, Hist. & Trag. sig. A4 Marlowes mighty line.
1632 J. Milton Epit. on Shakespear in W. Shakespeare Comedies, Hist. & Trag. (ed. 2) sig. A5 Each part, Hath from the leaves of thy unvalued Booke, Those Delphicke Lines with deepe Impression tooke.
1711 A. Pope Ess. Crit. 21 And ten low Words oft creep in one dull Line.
1752 D. Hume Ess. & Treat. (1777) I. 211 Each line, each word, in Catullus, has its merit.
1779 E. Parkman Diary 96 After which I..read Ps. 149, which was sung without reading the lines by the Deacon.
1792 W. Cowper (title) Lines addressed to Dr. Darwin.
1809 Ld. Byron Eng. Bards & Sc. Reviewers 390 Lines forty thousand, cantos twenty~five!
1867 A. Dawson Rambling Recoll. (1868) 33 To dispense with reading the line in psalmody was by many held to be profane.
1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) I. 252 The lines of Homer which you were reciting.
1894 W. H. Wilkins & H. Vivian Green Bay Tree I. 72 To commute the punishment to 500 Latin lines.
1907 Massacre of Innocents ii. 13 Vardon, do me five hundred lines.
1914 ‘I. Hay’ Lighter Side School Life vii. 182 Mr. Duckworth..had occasion to set Master Smith fifty lines for inattention.
1959 I. Opie & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolchildren xv. 325 At my junior school the boys had different doors from the girls and if a boy went through the girls' door he had a 100 lines to write out.
1961 D. Woodward tr. G. Simenon Premier ii. 36 He took lessons without appearing to see his pupils..and his only reaction was, if one of them grew restless, to give him two hundred lines.
1974 Age (Melbourne) 12 Oct. 12/2 Doing lines, being kept in to write out good resolutions, such as ‘I must not put squashed frogs in girls' sandwiches’.
f. plural. Short for marriage lines, the certificate of marriage. Applied also dialect to other kinds of certificates (e.g. of church membership).
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > wedding or nuptials > official announcements, permission, or records > [noun] > certificate
marriage certificate1821
line1829
1829 J. Hunter Hallamshire Gloss. Lines. Marriage-lines is a certificate of marriage often asked for and kept by the bride.
1840 F. Marryat Poor Jack xi. 68 She could not produce her ‘marriage lines’.
1861–2 W. M. Thackeray Philip (1869) I. xii. 254 ‘How should a child like you know that the marriage was irregular?’ ‘Because I had no lines’, cries Caroline quickly.
1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 81Lines of admission’, or as we should call them letters of recommendation.
1901 Union Mag. Mar. 106/1 The old minister fell into a reverie in the very midst of filling in Sandy M'Turk's lines.
g. plural. The words of an actor's part.
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society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > words spoken by actors
dialogue1572
side speech1728
words1761
line1882
1882 Daily Tel. 7 Dec. He [an actor] said, ‘Do let me get in some of my “lines”’.
h. line upon line: now taken as referring to the reiteration of statements in successive lines of writing or print (for the originally meaning see 5).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > manner of writing > [noun] > reiteration of statements in successive lines
line upon line1837
society > communication > printing > printed matter > arrangement or appearance of printed matter > [noun] > reiteration of statements in successive lines
line upon line1837
1611 Bible (King James) Isa. xxviii. 10.
1837 F. L. Mortimer (title) Line upon line; or, a second series of the earliest religious instruction the infant mind is capable of receiving.
1896 Home Mission. (N.Y.) Aug. 218 A line-upon-line presentation of these facts.
IV. Serial succession.
24.
a. A continuous series of persons (rarely of things) in chronological succession. Chiefly with reference to family descent, a series in which each member is the parent of the one next following. So male line, line female, female line, direct line. For heir of line see heir n. Compounds 1.
ΘΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > lineage or descent > [noun] > a line of descent
linec1386
descent?a1400
pedigree1440
series1599
Welsh pedigree1615
bloodline1658
family linea1694
stem-line1892
c1386 G. Chaucer Wife of Bath's Tale 279 If gentillesse were planted natureelly vn-to a certeyn linage, doun the lyne.
1426 J. Lydgate tr. G. de Guileville Pilgrimage Life Man 14696 ‘Flatrye’..by dyssent off lyne doun Eldest douhter off Falsnesse.
c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 48 In þe lyne vpward, þi fadyr is to þe in þe first degre of kynrede.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) i. l. 34 The rycht lyne of the fyrst Stewart.
a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) iv. l. 1786 He sulde be kynge of al þe haile, Þat cummyn war be lyne famale.
1508 Bk. Keruynge (de Worde) sig. B.vi A Marshall muste take hede of the byrthe and nexte of the lyne of the blode royall.
1641 Ld. Digby Speeches High Court Parl. 14 By a Concentring of all the Royall lynes in his Person.
a1700 R. Hog Decisions Court of Session, 1681 to 1691 (1757) 101 Alledged for the heir of the line female: That she had right by the contract 1634.
1705 J. Addison Remarks Italy 13 There is no House in Europe that can show a longer Line of Heroes.
a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 457 Isaac, Jacob, Judah..and..Solomon, were preferred without any regard to the next in line.
1785 W. Cowper Task v. 211 In the line Of his descending progeny.
1804 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. III. 394 Purchases in the line of the mother or grandmother.
1809–10 S. T. Coleridge Friend (1865) 136 The property..derived from a long line of ancestors.
1863 A. P. Stanley Lect. Jewish Church I. xiii. 297 He and his sons, founded a long line of Priests.
1895 Law Times Rep. 72 817/1 The case is governed by a line of authorities extending over a century.
b. by line: by lineal descent. Obsolete.
ΘΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > lineage or descent > [adverb] > in direct line
by linec1374
evenly?c1400
lineally1426
even1489
evenliklya1500
in a diametera1681
c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde v. 1481 Of þis lord descendede Tydeus By ligne.
c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 693 Of his lynage am I, and his of spryng By verray ligne.
1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur v. x My fader is lyneally descended of Alysaunder..by ryght lygne.
c1480 (a1400) SS. Simon & Jude 3 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 208 Of symone..& of Iudas..þat brethire ware be lyne of fles to sancte Iames callit þe les.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 1841 Lord of þe londe as be lyne olde.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 134 The lawful ȝouth quha rycht be lyne was sproung of the kingis blude.
c. line of command.
ΘΠ
society > authority > command > [noun] > line or chain of command
line of command1930
chain of command1957
food chain1989
1930 Naut. Mag. Jan. 41 (title) The line of command.
1930 Naut. Mag. Jan. 43 When the machinery fails, then the old line of command is called upon to take its full responsibility.
1962 Rep. Comm. Broadcasting 1960 161 in Parl. Papers 1961–2 (Cmnd. 1753) X. 259 The planning and operation of a national programme of television can never be simple, even when there is a single objective to be pursued, when effective control resides in a single authority, and when there is a direct line of command.
25. Lineage, stock, race. ? Somewhat archaic.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > lineage or descent > [noun]
kinc892
strindc900
i-cundeOE
bloodOE
kindredOE
birtha1250
strainc1275
gesta1300
offspring?a1300
lineagea1330
descentc1330
linec1330
progenya1382
generationc1384
engendrurec1390
ancestry?a1400
genealogya1400
kind?a1400
stranda1400
coming?a1425
bedc1430
descencec1443
descension1447
ligneea1450
originc1450
family1474
originala1475
extraction1477
nativityc1485
parentelea1492
stirpc1503
stem?c1550
race1563
parentage1565
brood1590
ancientry1596
descendance1599
breeding1600
descendancy1603
delineation1606
extract1631
ancestory1650
agnation1782
havage1799
engendure1867
c1330 Arth. & Merl. 5462 (Kölbing) Aigilin, A wiȝt kniȝt of gentil lin.
c1440 Partonope 7253* He is of the lyne of king Priam.
c1450 (c1400) Sowdon of Babylon (1881) l. 357 I trowe, he were a develes sone, Of Belsabubbis lyne.
1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) ii. ii. 32 They had put out of rome tarquyn and..alle his lignee.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VII f. vi Sole heyre male lefte of the ligne of Richarde duke of Yorke.
1637 J. Milton Comus 32 Virgin, daughter of Locrine Sprung of old Anchises line.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 131 Th'immortal Line in sure Succession reigns. View more context for this quotation
1726 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey V. xxiv. 588 Shame not the line whence glorious you descend.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. ix. 456 The party hostile to his line, his office, and his person.
1865 R. W. Dale Jewish Temple xiii. 139 He belongs to no consecrated line.
1874 G. Bancroft Footpr. of Time i. 78 The line of Cyrus being extinct.
V. A direction or course of movement.
26.
a. Track, course, direction; route: e.g. line of march, line of operations. line of communication: a line by which a field army maintains communication with its base; spec. = communication line n. at communication n. Compounds 3a; (see also quot. 1802); also line(s) of communication(s). telegraph line: see telegraph n. Compounds 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel in specific course or direction > [noun]
lodeOE
wayOE
gatea1300
tracea1300
raik?c1350
coursec1380
coursec1380
racec1390
line1426
fairwayc1440
tradec1480
voye1541
tract1555
track1565
career?1614
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > [noun]
wayOE
route?c1225
line1426
itinerary?a1475
tract1555
road1598
wad1854
society > armed hostility > military organization > signals > [noun] > line of communication
communication line1660
line(s) of communication(s)1802
1426 J. Lydgate tr. G. de Guileville Pilgrimage Life Man 21779 That lyne ryht shal lede the To the place..Wych thow hast..souht.
1625 N. Carpenter Geogr. Delineated i. ii. 15 All earthly bodies are by a right line carried and directed to the Center of the Terrestriall Globe.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §224 Sounds that move in oblique and arcuate lines.
1637 H. Hexham True & Briefe Relation Famous Seige of Breda 15 This night also the line of Communication, was begun betweene the French and the English.
1643 Acts & Ordinances Interregnum (1911) 321 The City of Westminster, the Borough of Southwarke, and other parts of the Counties of Middlesex and Surrey within the Forts and Lines of Communication.
c1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1642 (1955) II. 80 I went from Wotton to Lond, to see the so much celebrated line of Communication.
1690 J. Child Disc. Trade ii. 66 The City of London and Westminster, Burrough of Southwark, and all other places within the usual Lines of Communication.
1739 J. Bancks Short Crit. Rev. Polit. Life O. Cromwell viii. 167 The bay was..united by a line of communication from one fort to another.
1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson ii. vii. 213 This would have carried us in a direct line to the Island of Quibo.
1780 W. Cowper Progress of Error 574 Though..the shaft..err but little from the intended line.
1792 G. Hanger Anticipation Freedom of Brabant 46 I know full well that twenty thousand men, or at most twenty-five thousand, are sufficient to act on any enemy's line of communication.
1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. Lines of communication, are trenches that unite one work to another..: thence the whole intrenchment round any place is sometimes called a line of communication, because it leads to all the works.
1819 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 5 737 Lying in a diagonal direction across the line of march.
1859 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms (ed. 2) Line, the route of a stage-coach, railroad, packet, or steamer.
1863 A. W. Kinglake Invasion of Crimea II. 193 The neck of country by which he keeps up his communications with the base is called the ‘line of operations’.
1872 B. Stewart Elem. Physics (1876) ii. 3 You must know..the direction or line in which I am moving.
1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIV. 346/1 A system..by which along a regular chain of posts, or ‘line of communications’, an army received its supplies of food, [etc.].
1895 I. Zangwill Master i. vii. 82 They ran on parallel lines that never met.
1899 Westm. Gaz. 16 Nov. 5/2 Inspector-General of Lines of Communication.
1900 A. Conan Doyle Great Boer War 201 One dashing raid carried out by a detachment from Methuen's line of communications.
1925 R. H. Mottram Sixty-Four, Ninety-Four! 228 Some lines-of-communication Head-quarters.
1959 Listener 12 Nov. 820/1 Duchamp's activity, progressively destroying all the old lines of communication.
1992 S. Verona Mil. Occup. & Diplomacy i. ii. 34 With regard to maintaining the Soviet lines of communication through Romania, for example, these documents imply that Moscow could not be basing its choice on routes and logistics.
b. Short for line of rail at sense 26b(c), railway line n. at railway n. Compounds 1a, tramline n. Cf. branch III.In railway language variously applied (a) to a single track of rails, as in the up line, the down line; (b) to a railway forming one of the parts of a system, as in main line, branch line, loop line; (c) sometimes to an entire system of railways under one management, as in the Midland line. line clear, a signal indicating that a line is unoccupied and that a train may therefore proceed; line of rail (see quot. 1965; cf. end of steel n. at end n. 6f).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > rail travel > railway system or organization > [noun] > under one management
line1825
society > travel > rail travel > railway system or organization > [noun] > track
way1700
track1806
rail track1824
railway track1824
line1825
main track1830
railroad track1830
single track1832
railway line1836
electric line1850
society > travel > rail travel > railway system or organization > [noun] > a railway > forming part of a system
line1825
main stem1832
society > travel > rail travel > railway system or organization > [noun] > a railway > forming part of a system > types of
branch line1825
sideline1831
stem1832
light rail1836
suburban1839
branch railway1840
main line1841
spurring1842
local line1843
trunk line1843
extension1852
feeder1855
main trunk1858
loop-line1859
loop1863
spur1878
main1886
spur line1924
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > road laid with parallel planks, slabs, or rails > [noun] > laid with rails > rail > set or line of
line1825
railing1825
metal1842
society > travel > rail travel > railway system or organization > [noun] > a railway
railway1681
railroad1824
rail line1825
road1825
car line1833
chemin de fer1835
line1861
pike1940
society > travel > rail travel > railway system or organization > [noun] > types of signal system > specific signal
red light1790
danger1841
danger-signal1848
line clear1869
highball signal1894
starter1895
red board1903
stop signal1923
identification light1931
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 643 The numerous projected lines of rail-road for diminishing the friction of carriages.
1841 Penny Cycl. XIX. 251/1 Curves on a main line of railway being..objectionable... When the Liverpool and Manchester line was projected.
1848 Chambers's Information for People (new ed.) I. 411/2 The plan of laying down continuous lines or tram~ways of smooth pavement for the wheels to roll over.
1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. IV. 1148 Model of a patent railway, with a third line of rails, to prevent running off the line.
1861 G. M. Musgrave By-roads in Picardy 195 The farmers..use the line to advantage by sending flour to inland and coast consumers by every train.
1869 Cornhill Mag. Mar. 282 Signalman at 3 tells signalman at 2, ‘line clear, send train.’
1888 R. Kipling in Pioneer Mail 29 July 148/3 Naturally a father who has worked for the line expects the line to do something for the son.
1898 F. Montgomery Tony 11 A few stations down the line.
1907 Daily Chron. 16 Oct. 7/4 Martin should have pulled up until he got the line-clear signal.
1936 Gloss. Terms Railway Signalling (B.S.I.) 9 The block indicator shows ‘Line Blocked’ or ‘Normal’, ‘Line Clear’ and ‘Train on Line’.
1963 G. M. Kichenside & A. R. Williams Brit. Railway Signalling v. 46 The signal controlling entry to the block section can only be cleared..when the block indicator for the section ahead is at ‘line clear’.
1965 Economist 8 May 655/2 The figure [of unemployed] exceeds 75,000 and..they are concentrated in the few towns along the so-called line-of-rail, the thin strip of urbanisation in which is concentrated..the country's [sc. Zambia's] economic activity.
1971 E. Afr. Jrnl. Mar. 17/2 A few co-operatives, along the line-of-rail especially, produce poultry products for sale.
c. U.S. to ride the line: to make the circuit of the boundary of a cattle-drift in order to drive in stray cattle.
ΚΠ
1888 T. Roosevelt in Cent. Mag. Mar. 669/1 Those who do not have to look up stray horses, and who are not forced to ride the line day in and day out.
d. Hunting. The straight course in the hunting field, esp. in phrases to ride the line, to take, keep one's own line.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting with hounds > [noun] > type of run
wanlacea1425
ring1717
point1789
line1836
1836 New Sporting Mag. 10 62 Nothing is so unsportsmanlike or so dangerous as to cross a man at a leap; every one should keep his own line, and if a man when he gets close to it fears the fence before him, he should pull up.
1895 Outing Dec. 196/2 A parson he was, after a sportsman's heart... Though an old man when I knew him, he always rode the line religiously.
e. Chiefly Canadian and New Zealand. A settlement road, a bush road.Such roads often later developed into roads of standard size and quality, and the word line appears in many road-names in both countries. The term may be of English dialectal origin.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > road > [noun] > bush
line1828
1828 Brockville (Upper Canada) Gaz. 26 Dec. 3/4 A teamster by the name of M'Pherson from the Scotch Line.
1830 W. S. Moorsom Lett. from Nova Scotia ix. 344 The greater part of this line is either a rough horse-path, or in the same state as that described under the name of a ‘new cut’.
1841 N.Z. Jrnl. No. 43. 224/2 Colonel Wakefield is also about to direct a line or bridle road (the basis of the future road) to be cut.
1853 J. C. Richmond Let. 11 Nov. in Richmond-Atkinson Papers (1960) II. 133 There is what we call a good bush road to Rata Nui but beyond it there are two miles of bush walking along what is called a ‘line’; a line is made by cutting the supple jacks and small shrubs with a bill-hook.
1863 E. H. Walshe Cedar Creek 103 They wished even for the corduroy expedient a little farther on, when the line became encumbered with stumps left from the under-brushing.
1880 W. H. Patterson Gloss. Words Antrim & Down Line,..(2) a road. The new roads are so called.
1890 E. H. Searle Angela i. 2 This track was known to the neighbourhood as ‘Mount's Line’.
1933 ‘P. Slater’ Yellow Briar 172 This grain was hauled down the 6th line and stored till the spring in Isaac Chafee's warehouse.
1943 Amer. Speech 18 87 In some country districts [in New Zealand] (the Manawatu, for example) the roads are named lines—McDonell's Line, Richardson's Line, Union Line—presumably from early boundary or surveyors' lines.
1961 C. Price & C. C. Kennedy Notes Hist. Renfrew County [Ontario] 110 McNaughton's Plan of 1836 shows Queen's Line as an opened road.
1971 M. Tak Truck Talk 99 Line, a road, route or highway.
f. A row of traps or of poison bait.Widely used in English-speaking areas outside the U.K.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > equipment > trap or snare > [noun] > series of
line1854
trap-line1889
1854 M. Reid Young Voyageurs 190 Moreover, he [sc. the wolverine] will follow the tracks of the trapper from one to another, until he has destroyed the whole line.
1871 R. L. Dashwood Chiploquorgan viii. 109 We followed an old ‘sable line’,..a line of traps set for that animal.
1949 Sat. Evening Post 22 Jan. 98/2 It is usually a glum day for the trapper when he pays his periodic visit to his line and sees in the snow the tracks of a wolverine joining the tracks that he made himself on his previous swing around.
1960 B. Crump Good Keen Man 31 Working from the same hut at first, we laid cyanide lines up every ridge within reach of the camp. The dodge was to work in pairs, one laying blobs of flour flavoured with oil-of-aniseed for bait, the other adding crushed cyanide to each heap of flour. We'd do this for three days, then go back over the lines cutting the ears off the dead possums for tokens.
1968 K. Weatherly Roo Shooter 39 Whenever a fox got on the line they lost about a quarter of their morning's catch. It would go round all the traps killing and tearing the rabbits until it was disturbed or caught in an unsprung trap.
g. A pipe or tube (of great or indefinite length in relation to its thickness).
ΘΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > curved three-dimensional shape or body > cylinder > [noun] > quality of being hollow cylinder > hollow cylinder or tube > of great or indefinite length
line1862
1862 W. J. M. Rankine Man. Civil Engin. iii. ii. 739 From..reservoir to..town the main pipes may form a double line, so that in the event of a failure of one line, a supply..may be conveyed through the other line.
1895 W. T. Brannt Petroleum vii. 237 Beside the lines leading from the oil region to Baku..there are a number of branches which lead from the 21 principal lines to the refineries.
1921 W. F. Durand Hydraulics of Pipe Lines v. 231 The buried line cannot be inspected or repaired or repainted on the outside, and these conditions will..reduce the serviceable life of the line.
1962 F. I. Ordway et al. Basic Astronautics x. 411 As the propellants flow through the feed lines to the pump a certain amount of pressure will be lost due to friction.
1966 A. E. C. Vizard in P. Hepple Natural Gas 55 By using large diameter lines at relatively high pressures the potential carrying capacity of a single line can be greater.
1974 Sunday Express 14 Apr. 1/3 Detectives investigating the death of a diver..have found that his support line was cut. The line carried oxygen and communication cables to two divers 350 feet down.
h. Golf. (See quot. 1910.)
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > golf > [noun] > direction required for shot
line1887
1887 W. G. Simpson Art of Golf ii. ix. 166 If their advice as to the line and strength be followed, and the putt comes off, it is supposed..that there was no other way of doing it.
1910 Encycl. Brit. XII. 223/2 Line, the direction in which the hole towards which the player is progressing lies with reference to the present position of his ball.
1971 L. Trevino & O. Fraley I can help your Game (1972) v. 72 (caption) The putt has been stroked but I maintain my immovable body position, concentrating on keeping the blade square to the line.
i. up the line: on leave. Nautical slang.
ΚΠ
1942 Gen 1 Sept. 13/2 When a sailor goes on leave he goes ‘up the line’.
j. the end of the line (transferred and figurative). Cf. the end of the road at end n. 3h.
ΘΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > [noun] > most extreme
worstc1275
extremityc1425
extreme fortune1531
exigents1588
fine1596
devil1681
limit1906
the end of the line1948
1948 Amer. Speech 23 29 Calcutta commandos..reached the End of the Line [sc. China] by flying..over the Hump.
1955 J. Potts Death of Stray Cat (1956) vii. 75 Lillian..turned to face Floyd, as a signal that this was the end of the line for him.
1959 E. Burgess Divided we Fall xx. 228 It looks like the end of the line for Roylake. Unless he can think up something—fast!
1967 P. G. Wodehouse Company for Henry v. 79 ‘Don't tell me we're there already.’.. ‘Yes, this is the end of the line.’
1974 ‘J. Graham’ Bloody Passage x. 133 They have nowhere to go. This is—how do the Americans say it?—the end of the line.
27. Course of action, procedure, life, thought, or conduct.
ΘΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > [noun] > (a) course of conduct or action
wayeOE
pathOE
waya1225
tracea1300
line13..
dancea1352
tenor1398
featc1420
faction1447
rink?a1500
footpath1535
trade1536
vein1549
tract1575
course1582
road1600
country dance1613
track1638
steeragea1641
rhumb1666
tack1675
conduct1706
walk1755
wheel-way1829
13.. K. Alis. 7266 For his barouns and for myne This weore the ryghtest lyne.
c1330 Arth. & Merl. 6492 (Kölbing) Þe king aros by wrongful lines &..He forlay þe stewardes wiif.
1629 N. Carpenter Achitophel 39 The same hand of Kingly munificence which..pointed him out the lines of his obliged loyaltie.
1787 T. Jefferson Writings (1859) II. 112 The line I have observed with him has been [etc.].
1800 E. Hervey Mourtray Family III. 57 Promising to consult with him, in regard to what line of life he should pursue.
1826 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey I. ii. xv. 231 I should then,..have inherited some family line of conduct, both moral and political.
1850 G. C. Lewis Let. 28 Dec. (1870) 233 The Protectionists, as a party, have taken no line in the matter.
1878 R. W. Dale Lect. Preaching (ed. 3) v. 131 You should consider by what lines of thought..you would be able to make the truth clear to them.
1882 C. Pebody Eng. Journalism (1882) xvi. 121 The line that shall be taken upon all the questions of the day.
1893 A. C. Swinburne Stud. Prose & Poetry (1894) 42 Few men..whose line of life lay so far apart from a naturalist's or a poet's can ever have loved nature or poetry better.
28.
a. A department of activity; a kind or branch of business or occupation.The sense seems to be largely due to the influence of quot. 1611, where, however, line (= Greek κανών, lit. ‘measuring rod’, Revised Version ‘province’) was probably meant by the translators in a sense belonging to branch II. The phrase line of things, sometimes used instead of line in the sense above explained, certainly arose from misapprehension of this text, where the words ‘in another mans line’ are parenthetical.
ΘΠ
society > occupation and work > [noun] > regular occupation, trade, or profession > line of business or work
line1638
way1642
lay1707
walk1715
slang1789
métier1792
Fach1838
lark1934
line of work1957
1611 Bible (King James) 2 Cor. x. 16 And not to boast in another mans line of things made ready to our hand. View more context for this quotation]
1638 F. Rous Heavenly Acad. x. 176 Keep thou especially in thine owne line, neither trouble thy selfe..for the line of another.
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. ii. 116 It is not out of Curiosity or Busybodinesse, to be medling in other mens Lines.
1677 W. Hubbard Narr. Troubles with Indians New-Eng. ii. 86 To intrude our selves into that which is out of our Line, or beyond our Sphere.
1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses I. 266 He entred on the Physick line, but took no degree in that Faculty.
1777 S. Johnson Let. 20 Sept. (1992) III. 71 Seeing things in this light, I consider every letter as something in the line of duty.
1787 T. Jefferson Writings (1859) II. 95 If I can be made useful to you in any line whatever here.
1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1777 II. 171 Johnson was..prompt to repress colloquial barbarisms; such as..line, for department or branch, as, the civil line, the banking line.
1806 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life I. iv. 67 Introd. Any thing much worse than usual in that line?
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas II. v. i. 345 I had got into the matrimonial line.
1820 Ld. Byron Blues ii. 94 Stick to those of your play, which is quite your own line.
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. I. 159 Mr. Augustus Cooper was in the oil and colour line.
1887 Spectator 16 Apr. 535/2 The line of this story is correctness rather than interest.
b. in (or out of) one's line: suited (or unsuited) to one's capacity, taste, etc.; not one's line, not one's vocation or calling, not among one's pursuits or interests; to step (or get, etc.) out of line, to behave in an unconventional or unexpected manner.
ΘΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > a standard of conduct > direct one's conduct by a rule [verb (intransitive)] > not conform to standard behaviour
to swim against the stream or the tide1592
to step (or get, etc.) out of line1791
the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > suitability or appropriateness > suitable or appropriate [phrase] > to a person
in my (his, etc.) way1740
in (or out of) one's line1838
the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > occupied or busy [phrase] > not among one's activities or pursuits
not one's line1857
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > disharmony or incongruity > unsuitability or inappropriateness > unsuitable or inappropriate [phrase]
out of the waya1450
out of my (your, etc.) way1555
out of place1560
in (or out of) one's line1886
out of key1920
1791 J. Lackington Memoirs xxv. 191 I cannot help noticing that in one of his [sc. Wesley's] publications (stepping out of his line) he betray'd extreme weakness and credulity.
1838 C. Dickens Oliver Twist II. xxvi. 94 Have you got any thing in my line to-night?
1857 C. Kingsley Two Years Ago I. Introd. p. xviii ‘He..wanted to call me out.’ ‘Did you go?’.. ‘I told him that wasn't my line.’
1886 R. Kipling Departm. Ditties (1899) 35 Her jokes aren't in my line.
1888 Harper's Mag. July 183 Store-keeping was not in my line.
1932 D. Runyon Guys & Dolls ii. 37 Reasonably safe for anyone who does not get too far out of line.
1937 M. Sharp Nutmeg Tree xix. 249 ‘Wouldn't you like to be Lady Waring?’.. ‘No, I wouldn't..it's not my line.’
1938 D. Runyon Furthermore iii. 45 He is out of line in giving Frankie the hot foot.
1943 J. B. Priestley Daylight on Sat. xiii. 87 The welfare worker act..wasn't her line at all.
1962 P. Gregory Like Tigress at Bay iii. 28 As long as he doesn't get out of line too often, I'll keep him on.
1962 J. Ludwig in R. Weaver Canad. Short Stories (1968) 2nd Ser. 244 Women weren't Sidney's line.
1973 N. Graham Murder in Dark Room viii. 58 You do it his way or else. I stepped out of line when I checked on Redman.
c. line of business n. in the 18th- and 19th-century theatre, the kind of parts for which an actor or actress was specifically engaged. Cf. business n. 18.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > part or character > [noun] > usual type of part for actor
line of business1775
1775 F. Abington Let. in D. Garrick Private Corr. (1832) II. 106 Knowing the impossibility of my attempting that line of business while I am necessarily engaged in so many plays.
1807 A. Holbrook Mem. Actress 33 Another shocking custom is, that of giving no distinct line of business; for people, let them possess what talent they may, excel more in certain parts than in others.
1831 P. Egan Show Folks 27 Waiting in turn to engage young men for different ‘lines of business’ to complete their companies.
1845 Ainsworth's Mag. 8 150 I have alluded to country actors..acting characters not in their ‘line of business’.
1849 Theatr. Mirror 17 Sept. 20 We were surprised to see Mrs. W. Daly playing the part of Lady Macbeth, being quite out of her lines of business.
1901 C. Morris Life on Stage vii. 40 These were the principal ‘lines of business’, and in an artistic sense they bound actors both hand and foot.
d. one's line of country, one's pursuit, field of interest, area of study, etc. (Frequently in neg. contexts.) Also, line of work.
ΘΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > affair, business, concern > [noun] > field of interest
mattera1387
campa1538
champian1596
domain1764
champaign1839
ground1847
one's line of country1861
society > occupation and work > [noun] > regular occupation, trade, or profession > line of business or work
line1638
way1642
lay1707
walk1715
slang1789
métier1792
Fach1838
lark1934
line of work1957
1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. III. viii. 138 This sort of thing isn't my line of country at all.
1926 R. Macaulay Crewe Train ii. v. 115 I don't advise you to join it [sc. the R.C. church]. I don't think it's your line of country, exactly.
1943 N. Balchin Small Back Room viii. 94 What? Pinching strange females?.. That's more his line of country than yours.
1951 W. Empson Struct. Complex Words 15 A mistake made by Richards..is a great deal more illuminating than the successes of other writers in this line of country.
1957 G. Faber Jowett v. 94 Josephine's absorption in her new ‘line of work’.
1966 ‘M. Brewer’ Man against Fear i. 15 I'd like to help... But it's not my line of country. Only the police can catch them.
1972 News & Observer (Raleigh, N. Carolina) 30 Dec. 4/3 No one lives in the sticks or is asked his line of work very often.
29. Used by Shakespeare in plural for: ‘Goings on’, caprices or fits of temper. [Compare the Warwickshire dialect phrase on a line = in a rage.]
ΘΠ
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [noun] > capriciousness > a caprice or whim > caprices
humours1589
linea1616
a1616 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida (1623) ii. iii. 129 Yea watch His pettish lines, his ebs, his flowes [Mod. edd. lunes].
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iv. ii. 18 Your husband is in his olde lines againe. View more context for this quotation
30.
a. Commerce. An order received by a traveller or agent for goods; the goods so ordered; also, the stock on hand of a particular class of goods, goods of a particular design.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > merchandise > [noun] > particular class of
line1834
town-made1835
run1861
brand1864
sideline1886
make1909
name brand1944
white goods1947
brown goods1976
positional goods1976
society > trade and finance > buying > [noun] > order
special order1547
order1746
mail order1867
line1892
pre-order1957
1834 Chambers's Edinb. Jrnl. 3 9/3 Even those [travelling salesmen] whose line seems the most hopeless and frivolous.
1882 Daily News 4 Mar. Spinners content themselves with supplying special lines and immediate requirement.
1892 Money Market Rev. 6 Feb. Another error committed by some of the Trusts has consisted in taking inordinately large ‘lines’ of particular Stocks.
1892 Daily News 11 Apr. 6/6 In spite of the new French tariff we still continue to receive fair ‘lines’ for silver goods from Paris.
1930 H. Cousins in V.A. Demant Just Price v. 102 No business can expect that all its ‘lines’ will be successful.
1959 Punch 16 Sept. 177/1 I can do a nice line in powder compacts.
1971 Cabinet Maker & Retail Furnisher 1 Oct. 15/3 Rather than let a slow selling line stand on the shop floor it is reduced immediately.
b. The amount which one underwriter (or one company) accepts as his share of the total value of the subject matter covered by insurance.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > financial dealings > insurance > [noun] > insurance policy > associated expense, amount, or charge
premio1622
premium1661
reversion1768
reversionary bonus1833
insurance1838
loading1867
hazard rate1872
single premium1877
margin1881
line1899
strain1910
deductible1927
no-claims bonus1933
co-pay1959
co-payment1966
1899 F. Hooper & J. Graham Mod. Business Methods 144 The names and the amounts on the back of a policy..would appear thus... Each of the above persons is said to ‘take a line’ in the policy.
1905 [see sense 17c].
1931 Times 14 Mar. 12/6 Many of those [sc. insurance companies] who have written large lines..are known to have been influenced by a desire [etc.].
1974 W. L. Catchpole Business Guide to Insurance xxiv. 202 If the chosen underwriter.. agrees to accept a substantial line at an equitable risk, he becomes the leading underwriter on the slip.
c. line of credit n. a loan by one country to another, to be utilized by the second for buying goods from the first; credit extended by a bank to a commercial concern to a certain amount; the amount so extended.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > financial dealings > moneylending > [noun] > loan > national or international
loan1765
soft loan1954
line of credit1958
Euroloan1961
1958 Listener 18 Sept. 407/1 A line of credit for £8,000,000 from Australia will have helped matters.
1971 Daily Tel. 1 Jan. 1/1 A total of 41 million Canadian dollars..was repaid on the Canadian line of credit.

Compounds

C1.
a. Simple attributive and objective.
(a)
line battalion n.
Π
1876 G. E. Voyle & G. de Saint-Clair-Stevenson Mil. Dict. (ed. 3) 50/1 2 companies from each of the line battalions assigned to the sub-district.
line end n.
Π
1748 W. Hardy Miner's Guide 184 Your Assistant having made a mark upon the Ground, where the Line End touched last.
1908 Daily Chron. 23 Oct. 9/4 Now he types instead of stamping the last words so as to obtain an even line end.
1930 T. Sasaki On Lang. R. Bridges' Poetry i. v. 21 The strongest stress..is the one at the line-end.
1961 T. Landau Encycl. Librarianship (ed. 2) 226/1 Line division mark, a vertical line or double vertical lines used in bibliographical transcription to indicate the place of the ends of lines... Also called line end stroke, dividing stroke.
line-guard n.
Π
1888 ‘J. Bickerdyke’ Bk. All-round Angler ii. 28 A Nottingham reel fitted with a little invention..intended to prevent the line uncoiling..off the reel. This line-guard has answered beyond my expectations.
line-length n.
Π
1905 Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. 20 814 The uniform background of the recurrent line-lengths.
1929 H. Crane Let. 30 Aug. (1965) 344 The line-lengths are longer than in any other section.
line-maker n.
line-making v.
Π
1897 Daily News 13 Sept. 7/3 Some six miles further on, the point where [railway] line-making was actually in process.
line-numbering n.
Π
1953 S. W. Amos & D. C. Birkinshaw Television Engin. I. ii. 33 The system of line numbering must be explained... The lines are numbered according to the positions they occupy in the raster, number 1 being the top line and, in the British system, 405 the bottom line.
1966 Eng. Stud. 47 296 His marginal references to Folio lines and passages (using the line-numbering of the Globe edition).
line-pair n.
Π
1867 A. Cayley in Coll. Math. Papers (1893) VI. 201 A conic is a curve of the second order and second class; quà curve of the second order it may degenerate into a pair of lines, or line-pair.
line-regiment n.
Π
1864 G. O. Trevelyan Competition Wallah ix. 299 Eighteen months in such a school would have turned the French line-regiments into Zouaves.
line-rhyme n.
Π
1860 G. P. Marsh Lect. Eng. Lang. xxv. 554 Line-rhyme is a constituent of all but the most ancient forms of Icelandic verse.
line-room n.
Π
a1643 W. Cartwright Ordinary (1651) iii. ii. 41 To hang up cloaths, or any thing you please. Your Worship cannot want line-room.
(b)
line-numbered adj.
Π
1905 Academy 14 Oct. 1072/2 We can see him turning over the page, line-numbered.
1959 Notes & Queries Sept. 313/2 The recent line-numbered edition by W. J. B. Owen.
line-throwing adj.
Π
1887 Daily News 9 Mar. 6/7 A Line-throwing Gun.
b. Botany. Used = linear adj. 4b. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1787 E. Darwin et al. tr. C. Linnaeus et al. Families of Plants I. 37 The leaflets line-lanc'd, keel'd, erect.
1787 E. Darwin et al. tr. C. Linnaeus et al. Families of Plants I. 41 Seeds one, cover'd, line-oblong.
1787 E. Darwin et al. tr. C. Linnaeus et al. Families of Plants I. 105 Filaments five, line-compress'd.
C2. Special combinations. Also lineman n., linesman n., line standard n.
line angle n. Dentistry the angle at the junction of two surfaces of a tooth or cavity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > digestive or excretive organs > digestive organs > mouth > substance or parts of teeth > [noun] > junction of surfaces
line angle1908
1908 G. V. Black Work on Operative Dentistry I. 295 Line angles.
1930 W. H. O. McGehee Text-bk. Operative Dentistry xi. 338 Flatten the gingival and axial walls, making a definite line angle at their junction.
1963 C. R. Cowell et al. Inlays, Crowns, & Bridges iii. 15 Complete the proximal box, using a chisel to plane its vertical walls and to sharpen the line angles.
line-angular adj. Obsolete (see quot.).
Π
1774 M. Mackenzie Treat. Maritim Surv. p. xviii A Line~angular Survey is, when the Coast is measured all along with a Chain, or Wheel, and the Angles taken at each Point and Turn of the Land with a Theodolite, or magnetic Needle.
line-at-a-time printer n. = line printer n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > printing machine or press > [noun] > computer printer > types of
line-at-a-time printer1955
line printer1955
chain printer1962
laser printer1979
dot matrix1982
thermal printer1982
thimble printer1982
1955 Jrnl. Assoc. Computing Machinery 2 294 Line-at-a-time printer (92 characters per line), operating at a speed of 150 lines per minute.
1963 I. H. Gould & F. Ellis Digital Computer Technol. xi. 141 The line-at-a-time printers have, in the main, been adapted from the tabulating machines of punched card practice.
line-backer n. American Football andCanadian Football (See quot. 1961).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > American football > [noun] > types of player
side tackle1809
nose guard1852
rusher1877
goalkicker1879
quarterback1879
runner1880
quarter1883
full back1884
left guard1884
snap-back1887
snapper-back1887
running back1891
tackle1891
defensive end1897
guard1897
interferer1897
receiver1897
defensive back1898
defensive tackle1900
safety man1901
ball carrier1902
defensive lineman1902
homebrew1903
offensive lineman1905
lineman1907
returner1911
signal caller1915
rover1916
interference1920
punt returner1926
pass rusher1928
tailback1930
safety1931
blocker1935
faker1938
scatback1946
linesman1947
flanker1953
platoon player1953
corner-back1955
pulling guard1955
split end1955
return man1957
slot-back1959
strong safety1959
wide receiver1960
line-backer1961
pocket passer1963
tight end1963
run blocker1967
wideout1967
blitzer1968
1961 Webster's 3rd New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Linebacker, a football player stationed within one to four yards of the line of scrimmage and expected to make quick tackles close to the line of scrimmage on running plays and to protect against short passes.
1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 13 Feb. 29/1 Darryl Burgess, a 225-pound linebacker from St. Mary's.
1969 Eugene (Oregon) Register-Guard 3 Dec. 10/2 Oregon linebacker Tom Graham..played well enough to make both UPI and AP All-Coast teams as a rookie.
1970 Toronto Daily Star 24 Sept. 18/5 We can always move Corrigall to linebacker.
1973 Washington Post 13 Jan. C5/4 The most misguided portion of the show comes during Jones' interviews of Jim Brown, the former football player-turned-actor, and Ray May, a linebacker for the Baltimore Colts.
line-bait n. bait used in line-fishing.
Π
1895 Outing 30 432/1 Minnows, frogs, crayfish or any favorite line bait.
line-ball n. Baseball (see quot.); also in Tennis
ΚΠ
1874 H. Chadwick Base Ball Man. 55 A ‘line ball’ or ‘liner’ is a ball sent swiftly from the bat to the field almost on a horizontal line.
1891 F. C. Burnand Miss Decima 22 Chorus (outside—watching a game of Lawn Tennis)..Ah! ‘Line’ ball.
line blanking n. Television the suppression of signals that would contribute to the picture during fly-back of the scanning spot between the transmission of successive lines; frequently attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > broadcasting > television > visual element > [noun] > scanning, etc.
scanning1927
scanning spot1929
flying spot1933
interlacing1935
line scanning1935
interlace1936
line scan1938
matrixing1951
line blanking1952
1952 J. O'C. Howe & G. Ducloux tr. F. Kerkhof & W. Werner Television iv. 76 The total line blanking of the picture signal is 0·15 L.
1957 S. W. Amos & D. C. Birkinshaw Television Engin. (rev. ed.) I. ii. 31 The synchronising signals are not the only form of intelligence which must be transmitted between lines; an additional signal, known as the line-blanking signal, must also be inserted.
1966 G. H. Hutson Television Receiver Theory I. iii. 31 The line blanking period is divided into..the front porch, the line sync. pulse and the back porch.
line block n. a block bearing a design in relief from which an illustration made up of lines without variations in tone may be printed; an illustration printed in this way; also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > engraving > relief engraving > [noun] > other techniques > line block
line block1896
1896 A. Beardsley Let. 29 Sept. (1971) 173 The rest of the drawing has come out so hardly and coldly in the line block.
1924 E. Pound Let. 3 Dec. (1971) 191 I think the idea of ten or twelve Blacks of size that cd. go by post, and that cd. be done in line block, might be useful.
1936 Burlington Mag. Mar. p. xiv/1 Line-block illustrations from the author's own drawings.
1956 Nature 18 Feb. 301/1 The illustrations are well chosen, both the line-blocks and the half-tones.
1972 P. Gaskell New Introd. Bibliogr. 272 The detail of all but the very best photographic line blocks tends to be slightly rougher at the edges than that of wood engravings.
line-book n. (a) Printing (Obsolete exc. Historical), a book in which compositors working in companionships (chiefly 19th cent.) kept account of the lines of set type credited and debited to them; (b) (also lines-book) R.A.F. slang a record of boasts (see 13g).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > record and reference books > [noun] > compositors' accounts
line-book1876
the mind > emotion > pride > boasting or boastfulness > [noun] > a boast > record of boasts
line-book1876
1876 J. Gould Letter-press Printer 33 The system adopted in some of the smaller houses is for each compositor to make up and impose his own pages, the making-up being passed from one compositor to the companion who follows him, accompanied by the line book.
1942 Observer 4 Oct. 7/2 ‘There I was, upside down, in cloud, ten-tenths, at 1,500 ft...’ But you never get to the end of your story if you were so foolish as to begin like that. ‘Lineshoot!’ they would cry. ‘Line!’ And most squadrons have a Line Book in which such statements are written down, to their authors' perpetual shame.
1943 C. H. Ward-Jackson It's a Piece of Cake 40 Lines book, in which are recorded exaggerated statements made at one time or another by Mess members.
1945 E. Taylor At Mrs Lippincote's xxiii. 194 Quick, the line-book!
1972 P. Gaskell New Introd. Bibliogr. 193 He [sc. the clicker] kept an account of the number of lines that each man set, both in a line-book and by marking the copy.
line-bred adj. produced by line-breeding.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > heredity or hereditary descent > [adjective] > descent from common ancestor
pure1569
truly1650
thoroughbred1719
thorough-blood1774
monogeneous1857
genetic1860
monogenous1866
homogenetic1870
homogenetical1870
homogenous1870
monophyletic1874
clean-bred1882
homodemic1883
homophylic1883
homosystemic1883
line-bred1891
synepigonic1904
cladistic1960
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > horse defined by breed > [adjective] > thoroughbred or highly bred
blooded1776
blood-like1796
blood1824
line-bred1891
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [adjective] > that is bred or has died in particular way
traiked1828
metis1848
mestizo1854
half-bred1891
line-bred1891
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > bos taurus or ox > [adjective] > bred in particular way
high-grade1847
graded1876
line-bred1891
1891 R. Wallace Rural Econ. Austral. & N.Z. xxxi. 400 The impression that tuberculosis is more prevalent among high line-bred shorthorns than among the ordinary country-bred cattle.
1960 Times 19 Sept. 3/4 20 dams were chosen..these being line-bred.
1971 Amer. Notes & Queries Apr. 126/2 The quarter horse, developed from cross-breeding Spanish stock imported to America via Florida (Chickasaw horses) and what Nelson Nye calls ‘line-bred orientals’ from England, was originally a sport animal.
Categories »
line-breeding n. U.S. ‘the breeding of animals with reference to securing descent from a particular family, especially in the female line’ (Webster Suppl. 1879).
line-camp n. North American a camp, esp. a cabin, for ranch hands in an outlying part of a large ranch.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > camp or encampment > [noun] > type of
ordu1673
chantier1823
douar1829
outcamp1844
log-camp1858
lumbering-camp1858
yayla1864
refugee camp1865
cow-camp1873
gypsyry1873
work camp1877
tent town1878
logging-camp1880
lumber-camp1882
town camp1885
base camp1887
line-camp1888
wanigan1890
isolation camp1891
tent village1899
sheep-camp1911
safari camp1912
jungle1914
transit camp1919
Siwash camp1922
health camp1925
tent city1934
fly camp1939
bivvy1961
1888 Cent. Mag. Mar. 667/2 But some of the men are out in the line camps, and the ranchman has occasionally to make the round of these.
1949 10 Story Western May 12/2 He had been telling them all how he was going to winter here at the Buffalo Crossing line camp.
1963 R. D. Symons Many Trails v. 52 Most outfits had what they call ‘line camps’ strung along the limits of their range, from which ‘line riders’ operated.
line-cast adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > types, blocks, or plates > relating to type > composed type > [adjective] > a line at a time
linotyped1908
line-cast1973
1973 S. Jennett Making of Bks. (ed. 5) xv. 286 The italic [of Linotype Baskerville] is a little loose fitting, its width, as in other line-cast type-faces, being governed by the roman.
line-caster n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > composing equipment > [noun] > type-setting machines > machine which sets a line at a time
Linotype1888
monoline1902
lino1907
Intertype1913
Linograph1913
line-caster1972
1972 Physics Bull. Sept. 533/1 These ‘second generation’ photosetters..are reasonably cheap and are considerably faster than the latest line-casters which are also tape driven.
line-casting adj. of a composing machine, casting type a line at a time.
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society > communication > printing > composing equipment > [adjective] > type of composing machine
line-casting1913
1913 Inland Printer July 486 (advt.) There are thousands of publishers all over the United States who have been waiting for a line-casting and composing machine so simple and easy to operate that it would prove practical in the small shop.
1916 L. A. Legros & J. C. Grant Typogr. Printing-surfaces iv. 15 Line-casting machine type-metal undergoes a wastage or depreciation.
1973 S. Jennett Making of Bks. (ed. 5) v. 83 The Intertype Fotosetter was also an adaptation, of the Intertype line-casting machine.
line-cod n. cod-fish caught with a line.
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1877 E. W. H. Holdsworth Sea Fisheries 80 Very few line-cod are caught in the North Sea for the next three months.
line-conch n. a large gasteropod of Florida, Fasciolaria distans, marked by black lines ( Cent. Dict.).
line-coordinate n. Mathematics one of a set of quantities defining the position of a line.
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1866 A. Cayley in Coll. Math. Papers (1892) V. 521 Considered as (what in the theory of line-coordinates it in fact is) a particular case of the double tangent.
line density n. (see quot.); also gen., density or concentration of lines.
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1873 J. C. Maxwell Treat. Electr. & Magnetism I. 68 In this case we may define the line~density at any point to be the limiting ratio of the electricity on an element of the line to the length of that element when the element is diminished without limit.
1963 Reshaping of Brit. Railways (Brit. Railways Board) 65 Line densities are not the only measure of the use made of the railway.
1971 Fremdsprachen 15 276 It can be used to restore old drawings and to improve line density for microfilming.
line drawing n. a drawing done with a pen or pencil; also figurative.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > drawing > [noun] > a drawing > in specific medium
coal work1651
crayon1662
pastel1791
pencilling1803
pen sketch1847
pen-picture1853
sanguine1854
pen and ink1860
black lead study1862
sepia1863
stylograph1866
charcoal1884
fusain1884
line drawing1891
celluloid1920
1891 A. Beardsley Let. 25 Dec. (1971) 32 I am anxious to say something somewhere, on the subject of lines and line drawing.
1895 I. Zangwill Master ii. vii. 205 To undertake wash-drawings, line~drawings, colour-work or lithography.
1959 Listener 9 July 76/3 It [sc. an overture] is finer line-drawing than the Gordon Jacob work.
1966 Listener 6 Jan. 36/3 Over 300 [flowers] are illustrated in close-up colour photographs and 100-odd more in line drawings.
1967 E. Short Embroidery & Fabric Collage ii. 51 There is a tendency to produce line drawings which might just as well have been done with a pencil.
line-drawn adj. made by line-drawing.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > drawing > [adjective] > drawn > in specific medium
pencilled1594
pen and ink1810
chalked1823
pen-and-pencila1845
pen-and-wash1893
line-drawn1903
1903 Westm. Gaz. 17 Oct. 4/2 An order of the King in Council was published with two line-drawn illustrations.
line-drive n. Baseball a ball driven straight and low above the ground.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > baseball > [noun] > batting > types of hit
skyscraper1842
single1851
grass trimmer1867
safe hit1867
roller1871
sacrifice1880
triple1880
two-bagger1880
sacrifice hit1881
pop-up1882
pop fly1884
fungo1887
bunt1889
safety1895
bunting1896
drive1896
hit and run1899
pinch hit1905
Texas leaguer1905
squeeze1908
hopper1914
scratch hit1917
squib1929
line-drive1931
nubber1937
lay-in1951
squeeze bunt1952
comebacker1954
moon shot1961
gapper1970
sacrifice fly1970
sacrifice bunt1974
1931 Randolph Enterprise (Elkins, W. Va.) 9 July 5/3 Boyles turned in the star catch of the day by racing..to pull down a line drive with one hand.
1968 Washington Post 4 July c1/3 Mantle was safe as Ron Hansen's throw, after snagging a line drive by Andy Kosco, was a trifle tardy.
line drop n. Electrical Engineering the voltage drop between two points on a transmission line (as a result of resistance, leakage, or other causes).
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical power, electricity > distribution system > [noun] > transmission line > loss during transmission
line drop1894
line loss1894
transmission loss1922
1894 [see line loss n.].
1962 Newnes Conc. Encycl. Electr. Engin. 86/1 D.C. boosters are normally low-voltage d.c. generators employed for adjusting a supply voltage, in line-drop compensation and as an aid in controlling the charging of large accumulator batteries.
line-ending n. (a) = line-filling n.; (b) the end of a line of poetry.
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society > communication > writing > written text > decoration > [noun] > flourish
dash1607
flourish1653
knota1680
purlicue1808
quirk1840
squirl1843
curlicue1844
line-filling1895
line-finishing1906
line-ending1928
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > part of poem > [noun] > line > subdivision of line > end of line
falling out1586
acrostic1737
line-ending1928
1928 E. G. Millar Eng. Illumin. MSS XIVth & XVth Cent. i. 9 Many of the line-endings..were added in the fifteenth century.
1962 W. Nowottny Lang. Poets Use v. 120 The method he adopts is the eccentric placing of line-endings.
line-engine n. an engine having several cylinders arranged in a straight line.
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1922 Encycl. Brit. XXX. 41/2 A double-acting line engine with cylinders in tandem.
line-engraved adj. inscribed with a line engraving.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > engraving > intaglio printing > [adjective] > line-engraved
line-engraved1802
1802 Monthly Mag. 14 253/1 The best line-engraved prints preserved their superiority.
1881 Stamp-collector's Ann. 5 The fall of the penny stamp and all its line-engraved family.
1936 Discovery Dec. 386/1 Practically all [18th-century tradesman's cards] are line- or stipple-engraved.
1965 Stamp Collecting (‘Know the Game’ Series) 44/1 Stamps printed from recess-plates are said to be line-engraved.
line-engraver n. one who does line engraving.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > engraving > intaglio printing > [noun] > line engraving > person
line-engraver1873
1873 Illustr. London News 15 Mar. 247/3 This eminent line-engraver.
1879 C. E. Clement & L. Hutton Artists of 19th Cent. I. 332 At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed to a line-engraver.
1965 O. Doughty & J. R. Wahl in D. G. Rossetti Lett. I. 9 Charles Warren (1767–1823), line-engraver and a noted illustrator.
line engraving n. the art of engraving ‘in line’, i.e. by lines incised on the plate, as distinguished from etching and mezzotint; an engraving executed in this manner.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > engraving > intaglio printing > [noun] > line engraving
line engraving1802
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > engraving > intaglio printing > [noun] > line engraving > an engraving
stroke engraving1793
line engraving1802
1802 Monthly Mag. 14 253/1 The line engraving is now attaining its deserved preeminence.
1810 Trans. Soc. Arts 28 14 Line Engravings of Historical Subjects.
1849 Chambers's Information for People (new ed.) II. 729/2 Effect is obtained in etching in the same manner as in line-engraving—namely, by depth.
line-fence n. North American a boundary fence between two farms or ranches.
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the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > equipment and buildings > [noun] > fence
line-fence1845
1845 J. Comly Reader & Bk. Knowl. 96 Always keep good line-fences.
1854 S. H. Hammond Hills, Lakes & Forest Streams xxv. 250 Later still, the old line fence was pulled away.
1874 B. F. Taylor World on Wheels ii. ii. 198 We..propped up the line fence and shingled the kitchen.
1886 Harper's Mag. Dec. 43/1 He jumped his horse over the line fence.
1893 E. R. Young Stories from Indian Wigwams 34 One morning I..went off to help a couple of Indians about their line fences.
1946 Chicago Daily News 23 Mar. 1/8 He got into an argument with the boy's parents over the building of a line fence between their properties.
1954 C. Bruce Channel Shore 12 From there a person could look east and west along..the northern fields..separated by line fences.
line-filling n. a flourish or ornament serving to fill up a line of writing.
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society > communication > writing > written text > decoration > [noun] > flourish
dash1607
flourish1653
knota1680
purlicue1808
quirk1840
squirl1843
curlicue1844
line-filling1895
line-finishing1906
line-ending1928
1895 M. R. James Abbey St. Edmund at Bury 93 The small initials..as well as the line-fillings, are of the most absolutely perfect kind.
line finder n. Telephony a selector which searches for the calling subscriber's line when he lifts his receiver so that the line can be connected to a group of selectors available to any caller.
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society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > telephone equipment > [noun] > exchange > exchange equipment
private line1852
bank1884
call-disc1884
howler1886
trunk1889
multiple switchboard1891
rack1893
line switch1898
heat coil1900
relay rack1902
multiple1905
listening key1906
telharmonium1906
wiper1906
preselector1912
line finder1922
rank1924
routiner1928
keysender1929
uniselector1930
wiper arm1933
1922 R. Glazebrook Dict. Appl. Physics II. 834/2 The line finder corresponds to the answering plug in a manual exchange.
1950 J. Atkinson Herbert & Procter's Teleph. (new ed.) II. i. 19/2 If..the volume of traffic and the number of 1st selectors are considerable, then line~finders may become more expensive than subscribers' uniselectors.
1968 E. H. Jolley Introd. Telephony & Telegr. viii. 232/2 The subscribers' lines are multiplied over the bank of contacts of the line-finders so that each subscriber's line appears on each line-finder.
line-finishing n. = line-filling n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > written text > decoration > [noun] > flourish
dash1607
flourish1653
knota1680
purlicue1808
quirk1840
squirl1843
curlicue1844
line-filling1895
line-finishing1906
line-ending1928
1906 E. Johnston Writing & Illuminating xii. 205 Line-finishings are used to preserve the evenness of the text when lines of writing fall short.
line-firing n. Military firing by a body of men in line.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > [noun] > type of firing
point and blank1590
false fire1602
potting1613
point-blank1614
running fire1629
pounding1633
bulleting1635
platooning1706
sharp-shot1725
street firing1727
ricochet1740
fire curtain1744
plunging fire1747
reverse fire1758
sniping1773
enfilade1796
rapid fire1800
line-firing1802
concentric1804
sharpshooting1806
rake1810
sniping fire1821
cross-firing1837
file-firing1837
curved fire1854
night firing1856
file-fire1857
volley-firing1859
cross-fire1860
joy-firing1864
snap-shooting1872
stringing1873
pot-shooting1874
indirect fire1879
sweeping1907
rapid1913
curtain of fire1916
ripple1939
ripple-firing1940
ripple fire1961
1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. Line-firings are executed separately and independently by each battalion.
1858 W. Greener Gunnery in 1858 405 For close quarters, line-firing, or quickness of loading, the musket will hold its place for centuries to come.
line-fisherman n. a man who fishes with a line.
Π
1899 Daily News 12 Apr. 6/2 The line-fishermen off our coasts.
line-fishing n. and adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > type or method of fishing > [noun] > fishing with line
lining1833
line-fishing1848
longlining1858
hand-lining1868
Murrumbidgee whaling1873
night-lining1894
1848 C. A. Johns Week at Lizard 242 They depend for this supply on line-fishing.
1897 Daily News 10 Feb. 6/2 The screw line-fishing boat George Baird.
line frequency n. Television the number of scanning lines produced per second.
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society > communication > broadcasting > television > visual element > [noun] > signals, types, or parts of
picture frequency1926
picture signal1927
black level1935
line frequency1936
pedestal1937
line scan1938
picture black1938
white level1938
porch1941
test signal1945
spot wobble1950
luminance1953
1936 O. S. Puckle tr. M. von Ardenne Television Reception i. 11 The total number of lines in the complete picture is 240, scanned sequentially and horizontally at 25 picture traversals per second... The line frequency is thus 6,000 impulses per second.
1973 Newnes Colour Television Servicing Man. I. i. 26/1 Sawtooth voltage at line frequency is developed across the inductive network.
line gale n. U.S. = line-storm n.
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the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > bad weather > [noun] > stormy weather > a storm > equinoctial
line gale1836
line-storm1850
1836 Knickerbocker 7 17 I must take the oars myself, for that blamed line gale has kept me in bilboes..a dog's age.
line gauge n. Printing a ruler showing the size of a type or types.
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society > communication > printing > miscellaneous printers' equipment > [noun] > gauges
male gauge1683
gauge1841
line gauge1948
type-gauge-
1948 M. E. Skillin & R. M. Gay Words into Type 544 Line gauge, a printer's measuring rule, marked off in nonpareils and picas, sometimes showing other type measurements also.
1967 R. R. Karch & E. J. Buber Graphic Arts Procedures: Offset Processes 544 Line gauge, a printer's ruler usually having 6 and 12 point graduations. Sometimes with other point scales, as: agate, 9-point, 10-point, etc.
line graph n. = graph n.1 2 (as distinguished from a bar graph, in which vertical rectangles represent the values of the dependent variable).
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society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > drawing plans or diagrams > [noun] > diagram > graph > type of
wave-line1888
periodogram1898
periodograph1899
Lorenz curve1909
bar chart1914
growth curve1916
bar diagram1923
bar graph1925
line graph1956
1956 Spaceflight 1 27/2 Received at the ground station, this signal is decoded automatically and interpreted as a series of line graphs.
1972 Scholarly Publishing 3 274 Bar graphs, line graphs, pie charts, and other illustrative devices.
line haul n. U.S. slang (see quots.).
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society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > transport of goods in a vehicle > [noun] > by motor lorry > on long journeys or between cities
line haul1942
trunk1968
trunking1968
1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §770 Line haul, a scheduled truck route.
1971 M. Tak Truck Talk 99 Line haul, a scheduled truck run or movement of freight between cities.
line-hunter n. a hound which follows its quarry by the line of the scent alone.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > hound > [noun] > that hunts by scent
brachc1400
brachetc1400
draught-hound1598
draught-dog1656
line-hunter1851
drag-hound1884
bratchet-
1851 R. S. Surtees Soapey Sponge's Sporting Tour lxvii, in New Monthly Mag. Mar. 319 Many of them [sc. hounds] had their heads up... Some few of the line hunters were persevering with the scent over the greasy ground.
1856 G. J. Whyte-Melville Kate Coventry xii They are capital ‘line~hunters’, so says John.
1890 Sat. Rev. 1 Feb. 135/1 In the vast forests of Europe a line-hunter on the scent of an ungalled hart would be lost to all eternity.
line-hunting adj.
Π
1890 Sat. Rev. 1 Feb. 135/1 The old slow line-hunting staghound.
line-integral n. Mathematics the integral, taken along a line, of any differential that has a continuously varying value along that line.
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1873 J. C. Maxwell Treat. Electr. & Magnetism I. 71 Line-Integral of Electric Force, or Electromotive Force along an Arc of a Curve.
line-integration n. the operation of finding a line-integral.
Π
1873 J. C. Maxwell Treat. Electr. & Magn. (1881) II. 232 The magnetic potential, as found by a line-integration of the magnetic force.
line-knife n. a knife used on a whaler for cutting the harpoon rope.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > whaling and seal-hunting > whaling > whaling equipment > [noun] > knife for cutting harpoon rope
line-knife1851
1851 H. Melville Moby-Dick xli. 202 One captain, seizing the line-knife from his broken prow, had dashed at the whale.
line loss n. Electrical Engineering loss of electrical energy along a transmission line (as a result of resistance, leakage, or other causes).
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical power, electricity > distribution system > [noun] > transmission line > loss during transmission
line drop1894
line loss1894
transmission loss1922
1894 A. T. Snell Electr. Motive Power iv. 126 The line loss remains constant when the percentage of the line drop is kept the same for variations of supply pressure.
1953 C. F. Hockett in S. Saporta & J. R. Bastian Psycholinguistics (1961) 64/1 To supply one hundred-watt light bulb, a generator must transmit one hundred watts of power, plus a bit more to make up for line-loss.
1970 D. Waterfield Continental Waterboy iii. 29 And you have line loss, particularly with very long transmission lines.
line-maker n. ‘a manufacturer of rope, sash-lines, clothes-lines, etc.’ (Simmonds Dict. Trade 1858).
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society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > producer > maker of rope or cord > [noun]
ropera1387
string-maker14..
ropemakera1425
ropierc1440
cord-maker1579
line-maker1667
cord-winder1707
1667 S. Pepys Diary 19 July (1974) VIII. 344 The pretty woman, the Line-maker's wife that lived in Fanchurch-street.
line management n. see sense 19d above.
line manager n. see sense 19d above.
line officer n. a military or naval officer of the line.
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society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > leader or commander > officer or soldier of rank > [noun] > combatant officer
line officer1850
combatant officer1868
1850 R. Glisan Jrnl. Army Life (1874) i. 2 This rank..avails its possessor..in everything except commanding troops when a line officer is present.
1909 Westm. Gaz. 1 Feb. 2/1 Wives of line-officers, engineers, servants.
1925 R. Graves Welchman's Hose 29 They hadn't one Line-officer left, after Arras.
line pin n. one of the iron pins used to fasten a bricklayer's line (see quot. 1842).
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society > occupation and work > equipment > equipment for marking out work > [noun] > plumb-line or chalk-line > part of
lead1340
line pin1688
plumb bob1836
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 395/2 Two Line Pins, with a Line lapped or raped about part of both.
1700 Moxon's Mech. Exercises: Bricklayers-wks. 10 A Pair of Line Pins of Iron, with a length of Line on them.
1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder 387 The Line Pins, consist of two iron pins, with a line of about sixty feet, fastened by one of its extremities to each.
1842 J. Gwilt Encycl. Archit. ii. iii. 514 The line pins..for fastening and stretching the line at proper intervals of the wall, that each course may be kept straight in the face and level on the bed.
line pipe n. pipe specially manufactured for use in pipelines.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > oil and natural gas recovery equipment > [noun] > pipe-line > pipe for use in
line pipe1923
1923 Amer. Petroleum Inst. Bull. 31 Dec. 117/2 The work of this committee has been..to the end that a specification might be had that would: (1) Minimize losses arising out of the use of casing line pipe, tubing and drill pipe, in oil field operations.
1930 L. D. Burritt in J. H. Walker & S. Crocker Piping Handbk. xiv. 719 Line-pipe threads are of the same form and taper as American Standard threads, but the pipe is threaded with a longer length of thread than is standard pipe.
1967 Times Rev. Industry Feb. 45/3 The rising demand for line pipe made sense of a connexion between South Durham and Stewarts and Lloyds, which has been marketing X60 seamless line pipe up to 18 inches in diameter for many years.
line printer n. a printer that is capable of printing a whole line of characters in each cycle of operation and is usually operated under the control of a computer.
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society > communication > printing > printing machine or press > [noun] > computer printer > types of
line-at-a-time printer1955
line printer1955
chain printer1962
laser printer1979
dot matrix1982
thermal printer1982
thimble printer1982
1955 Jrnl. Assoc. Computing Machinery 2 294 Output: Line printer of a BULL tabulating machine.
1962 Mod. Lang. Rev. 57 171 The Cambridge Mathematical Laboratory possesses a line-printer which is directly operated by EDSAC 2.
1970 O. Dopping Computers & Data Processing iv. 73 A normal speed for a computer line printer is 1,000 lines per minute.
1970 O. Dopping Computers & Data Processing xi. 164 A mechanical line printer has one printing device for each printing position in the line (for each ‘column’). The number of printing positions is often between 100 and 160.
line-reel n. Obsolete a reel upon which a gardener's line is wound.
Π
1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique ii. l. 326 When you haue cast your grounde, you shall begin to stretch your line with good and firme line-reeles, to take the bredth and length of your borders round about.
line-ride v. U.S. (intransitive) to perform the action of line-riding.
ΚΠ
1883 Rep. Productions Agric. 10th Census 1880 (U.S. Census Office) 971 The cattle-raisers were obliged to fence or to ‘line-ride’ to keep their cattle from trespassing.
line-rider n. North American one engaged in line-riding.
ΚΠ
1883 Rep. Productions Agric. 10th Census 1880 (U.S. Census Office) 973 The cowboys engaged in this work are called ‘line-riders’.
1898 H. S. Canfield Maid of Frontier 134 The line riders came in at night, reeking and dusty.
1920 J. M. Hunter Trail Drivers of Texas I. 298 The fence rider, also called the ‘line rider’, is employed to ride fences and repair them.
1924 C. E. Mulford Rustlers' Valley vii It was evident that they carefully had planned the murders of the two line riders.
1942 E. E. Dale Cow Country 119 This by no means did away with the work of the line rider, though it was made somewhat easier.
1963 [see line-camp n.].
line-riding n. U.S. riding the line (see sense 26c).
ΚΠ
1883 Rep. Productions Agric. 10th Census 1880 (U.S. Census Office) 971 The cattle of northwest Texas are in a large measure controlled or held on their ranges by a system of ‘line-riding’.
1888 T. Roosevelt in Cent. Mag. Mar. 668/2 Line-riding is very cold work, and dangerous, too, when the men have to be out in a blinding snowstorm.
line-rocket n. a small rocket attached to a line or wire along which it is made to run.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > firework > [noun] > types of
fire sword1482
firedrake1608
fiend1634
fire club1634
fire lance1634
fire-target1634
saucisson1634
fire-trunk1639
runner1647
fire pole1708
fire fountain1729
fire-flyer1740
line-rocket1740
devil1742
fire tree1749
Grecian fire1774
jet1774
fire pan1799
metamorphose1818
Saxon1839
lightning paper1866
asteroid1875
brilliant1875
pearl1884
1740 G. Smith tr. Laboratory (rev. ed.) App. p. xliv Charges for the Line Rockets.
line scan n. (a) the motion of a scanning beam or spot along a line; (b) the electrical signal which causes this; (c) an apparatus or technique which scans an object or scene line by line.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical skills and techniques > [noun] > optical scanning > line scan
line scan1938
society > communication > broadcasting > television > visual element > [noun] > signals, types, or parts of
picture frequency1926
picture signal1927
black level1935
line frequency1936
pedestal1937
line scan1938
picture black1938
white level1938
porch1941
test signal1945
spot wobble1950
luminance1953
society > communication > broadcasting > television > visual element > [noun] > scanning, etc.
scanning1927
scanning spot1929
flying spot1933
interlacing1935
line scanning1935
interlace1936
line scan1938
matrixing1951
line blanking1952
society > communication > broadcasting > television > transmitting or receiving apparatus > [noun] > scanning devices
mirror drum1927
scanning disc1927
scanner1929
Nipkow disc1934
line scan1938
scanning coil1938
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > instruments for observing > [noun] > scanning devices > other scanning devices
line scan1938
1938 J. H. Reyner Testing Television Sets iv. 46 If the time base is operating the appropriate noise will be heard—a rapid ticking on the frame scan and a high squeal on the line scan.
1957 D. G. Fink Television Engin. Handbk. x. 12 The harmonic components of the line-scan spectrum may thus be thought of as carrier waves, each with a 60-cps modulation envelope.
1962 Daily Tel. 28 Aug. 13/5 Line scan is a system for reconnaissance and mapping at low levels.
1966 D. G. Brandon Mod. Techniques Metallogr. 257 The line scans being automatically repeated 50 μm apart.
1971 Daily Tel. 22 Jan. (Colour Suppl.) 22/1 False colour photography..does not record gradations of temperatures exactly, and these can be very important. The instrument which does this is the infra-red linescan, which scans the scene line by line like a television scanner, building up a composite picture from the heat records.
line scanning n.
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society > communication > broadcasting > television > visual element > [noun] > scanning, etc.
scanning1927
scanning spot1929
flying spot1933
interlacing1935
line scanning1935
interlace1936
line scan1938
matrixing1951
line blanking1952
1935 Television Today 1 300/2 The line scanning is usually spoken of as the scanning motion.
1971 H. E. Ennes Television Broadcasting iii. 125 Picture information is contained in the fundamental and harmonics of the 60-Hz field frequency and the 15,750-Hz line-scanning frequency.
line-sequential adj. Television applied to a system of colour television in which each line of the picture is in one of the three primary colours, the colour changing for each successive line.
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society > communication > broadcasting > television > visual element > [adjective] > colour systems
sequential1947
line-sequential1949
1949 Electronics Dec. 68/3 The change of color is introduced between successive lines in the scanning field, that is, the system is in the line-sequential class.
1965 G. du Cloux tr. W. A. Holm Colour Television Explained (ed. 2) iii. 55 The R.C.A. appeared to have arrived at the ultimate solution with a line-sequential, or possibly even a dot-sequential system.
line shaft n.
Π
1881 Spons' Dict. Engin. Suppl. III. 1093 For the bearings of line shafts cast iron is..the best.
1936 W. Staniar Mech. Power Transmission Handbk. v. 145 Jack~shafts. Location.—Either between head and line shafts, or between line- and countershafts.
1974 Encycl. Brit. Macropædia XI. 253/2 In the days when all machines in a shop were driven by one large..prime mover, it was necessary to have long lineshafts running the length of the shop and supplying power..to shorter countershafts, jackshafts, or headshafts.
line shafting n. a shaft, or shafting, of relatively great length from which a number of separate machines are driven by countershafts or endless belts.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > shaft > [noun] > others
axle-tree1659
axle-shaft1837
propeller shaft1839
crank-shaft1854
sub-shaft1859
driveshaft1860
half-time shaft1861
cardan joint1868
line shafting1872
thrusting-shaft1906
1872 J. Richards Treat. Wood-working Machines 95 Pulleys for line-shafting running at high speed should be light and true.
1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. (rev. ed.) XII. 240/2 The delivery of power to the machines in a shop has generally been converted from line shafting to individual electric motors for each machine.
line-side n. attributive adjacent to a railway line.
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1961 Webster's 3rd New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Lineside, adjacent to a railway line.
1967 Listener 26 Jan. 123/1 This can be prodigiously expensive if it involves disturbance of lineside property.
1975 Daily Tel. 18 July 2/8 By next year it is expected that there will be fewer faults in the 547 lineside signals and 465 points controlled by the new box.
line-soldier n. a soldier of the line, a linesman.
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1864 E. A. Parkes Man. Pract. Hygiene 510 More than two-thirds of each line-soldier's service is passed abroad.
line space n. the space provided for a line of typescript; so line-space lever, line-space mechanism, etc., the device that turns the platen of a typewriter to a new line of writing.
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society > communication > printing > printed matter > arrangement or appearance of printed matter > [noun] > space available for or occupied by print
spacec1480
space1657
line space1951
1951 Oxf. Junior Encycl. IV. 472/2 When it reaches the end, a line space lever is pushed to move the paper up to a new line and return the carriage to the right.
1962 Which? Dec. 357/1 Some of the models..had only two positions for their line space selector, the others all had three.
line-spacing n. the space between successive lines of typescript; attributive, of the device that moves the platen to a new line.
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society > communication > printing > typing > typewriter > [adjective] > line-spacing device
line-spacing1957
society > communication > printing > printed matter > arrangement or appearance of printed matter > [noun] > space left intentionally > between lines of type
white1594
white line1676
line-spacing1957
1957 Encycl. Brit. XXII. 645/1 The machine was soon renamed the Remington. Among its original features which were still standard..in the 1950s are the paper cylinder with its line-spacing and carriage-return mechanism.
c1961 Imperial Type Faces (Imperial Typewriter Co.) The number of words which can be typed on a quarto page..var[ies] according to the pitch of the letter and line-spacings.
line spectrum n. a spectrum containing lines distributed apparently at random (rather than in groups as in a band spectrum); hence, an emission (of light, sound, or other radiation) composed of a number of discrete frequencies or energies.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > decomposition of light, spectrum > [noun] > characterized by lines
line spectrum1873
1873 London, Edinb. & Dublin Philos. Mag. 4th Ser. 46 406 When the gas is near atmospheric pressure, the line-spectrum of nitrogen is brilliant.
1885 H. E. Roscoe Spectrum Anal. (ed. 4) iii. 130 Nearly all bodies..have been found to exhibit both a band and a line spectrum, the band spectrum always belonging to the lower temperature.
1923 R. Glazebrook Dict. Appl. Physics IV. 780/1 Luminous spectra can be divided into two classes, namely continuous spectra..and discontinuous spectra... Discontinuous spectra may be subdivided into line and band spectra.
1955 G. A. Miller & P. E. Nicely in S. Saporta & J. R. Bastian Psycholinguistics (1961) 165/2 Acoustically, this means that the voiceless consonants are aperiodic or noisy in character, whereas a periodic or line-spectrum component is superimposed on the noise for voiced consonants.
1962 H. D. Bush Atomic & Nucl. Physics iv. 96 There are two main features of a β-particle spectrum, a continuous spectrum with energies ranging from zero to a maximum value..and a line spectrum consisting of a number of discrete energies superimposed on the continuous spectrum.
1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio 254 A sound which is composed of individual frequencies (fundamental and harmonics or partials, or a combination of pure tones) has a line spectrum. Bands of noise have a band spectrum.
line-squall n. a squall, consisting of a violent straight blast of cold air with snow or rain, and occurring along the axis of a V-shaped depression.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > bad weather > [noun] > a disturbance of the elements > sudden and violent
pirrie1440
fuddera1522
fret1582
squall1719
flaw1791
williwaw1832
willy1832
line-squall1887
1887 R. Abercromby Weather 241 This class of atmospheric disturbance, which, for the sake of classification, we will call ‘Line-squalls’.
line-storm n. U.S. an equinoctial storm.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > bad weather > [noun] > stormy weather > a storm > equinoctial
line gale1836
line-storm1850
1850 N. Kingsley Diary (1914) 115 A fine day with a strong West wind; rather think the line storm is over.
1867 J. G. Whittier Palatine 63 Along their foam-white curves of shore They heard the line-storm rave and roar.
1939 R. Frost Coll. Poems 38 The line-storm clouds fly tattered and swift.
line-sync n.
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society > communication > broadcasting > television > visual element > [adjective] > signals, types, or parts of
line-synchronizing1935
line-sync1940
luminance1953
1940 W. T. Cocking Television Receiving Equipm. xix. 281 When a very large amplitude of line sync pulse is applied to the line generator it is tripped at half-line intervals during the frame sync pulses.
1969 C. R. G. Reed Princ. Colour Television Syst. vi. 71 The line sync pulse duration is 4·7 μs.
line-synchronizing adj. Television applied to a pulse transmitted in a television signal at the end of each line which initiates fly-back of the scanning spot in the receiver, so keeping the scanning process in synchronism with that in the transmitter; also abbreviated to line-sync n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > broadcasting > television > visual element > [adjective] > signals, types, or parts of
line-synchronizing1935
line-sync1940
luminance1953
1935 Television Today 1 300 The time duration of the line synchronising pulse is usually about 10 per cent. of that of each line.
1953 S. W. Amos & D. C. Birkinshaw Television Engin. I. i. 16 A synchronizing signal is sent out every time the scanning beam at the transmitter reaches the end of a line; this signal is termed the line-sychronizing signal (abbreviated to line-sync signal) and has the function of initiating line flyback at the receiver.
line-thunderstorm n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > bad weather > thunder and lightning > [noun] > thunder > thunderstorm
thundera1400
tempest?1533
tornado1589
tornade1634
thunder-storma1656
line-thunderstorm1887
1887 R. Abercromby Weather 248 We will now give an example of line~thunderstorms which are not associated with the trough either of a V or a cyclone.
line-tub n. a tub in which a whaling line is kept.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > whaling and seal-hunting > whaling > whaling equipment > [noun] > tub for keeping line in
line-tub1839
1839 J. N. Reynolds in Knickerbocker May 382 Line-tubs, water-kegs, and wafe-poles, were thrown hurriedly into the boats.
1851 H. Melville Moby-Dick cxxxiv. 617 Reaching out after the revolving line-tubs, oars and other floating furniture.
line-way n. (a) a tow-path; (b) ‘a straight direct path’ (Halliwell 1847).
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society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > track, trail, or path > [noun] > beside a canal or river for towing
line-way1464
towing-path1726
tow-path1788
track-road1828
track-path1839
trackway1873
barge-walk1880
1464 Rolls of Parl. V. 569/2 A waye on either syde of the seid water called a lyne weye, to convey the said Trowes, Botes, Cobles and Shutes, on the seid water.
line-width n. Physics the width of a spectral line as measured by the difference in wavelength, wave number, or frequency between its two sides.
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the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > decomposition of light, spectrum > [noun] > spectral line > width of
line-width1946
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > chromatism > [noun] > spectrum > band or line forming part of > width of
line-width1946
1946 Nature 28 Sept. 450/1 Measures of effective line-width, made..upon the brilliant reversal of the Hα (λ 6563) contour.
1962 Sci. Surv. 3 67 The current reports of the line-width of the radiation produced by the helium-neon optical maser show the line-width is approximately one cycle per second.
1971 New Scientist 3 June 565/2 Molecular linewidths are of the order of 10–3 cm–1 at room temperature.
1972 Physics Bull. Feb. 83/2 A dye laser tuned to give a sodium linewidth of a hundredth of an ångstrom.
line-wire n. Telegraphy the wire which connects the stations of a telegraph-line.
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1870 F. L. Pope Electr. Telegr. (1872) iii. 24 A Telegraphic Circuit consists of one or more batteries, the line wire, the instruments and the earth.
line-work n. (a) drawing or designing executed with the pen or pencil (as opposed to wash, etc.); (b) (see quot. 1968); (c) work as a lineman.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > drawing > [noun] > drawing in specific manner
purfling1601
outlining1795
lining1823
sketching1824
free-hand1841
model-drawing1843
cartooning1846
line-work1895
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > engraving > relief engraving > [noun] > other techniques
gypsography1840
chemigraphy1853
cameo-embossing1878
chemigraph1892
line-work1895
blind printing1904
gauffrage1904
1895 I. Zangwill Master ii. vii. 205 Cross-hatching, solid black, line-work.
1904 Brit. Printer Apr. 86/2 Line work negatives are printed on to zinc.
1911 H. Quick Yellowstone Nights ii. 32 I'm just through with a summer's line~work in the West.
1962 Times 10 Jan. 13/4 The pen drawing..is admirable..projecting in its free and open linework all the completeness of an oil composition.
1968 Gloss. Terms Offset Lithogr. Printing (B.S.I.) 10 Line work, copy or reproduction consisting of solid elements only, as distinct from half-tone.

Draft additions 1993

As the final element in words denoting telephone services which provide entertainment, counselling, information, etc. of the kind indicated by the first element, as chat line n. at chat n.1 Additions, help-line n. at help n. Additions, talkline, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > [noun] > telephone services
answering service1904
information1910
speaking clock1934
talking clock1936
TIM1936
telebus1942
wake-up service1946
subscriber trunk dialling1952
freephone1959
telephone hotline1961
WATS1962
call waiting1963
night line1970
phone-in1970
telephone helpline1970
help-line1980
line1983
Cellnet1984
chat line1984
Vodafone1984
telepoint1987
callback1992
1983 Chicago Sun-Times 5 July 15 The Kids' Line will be added by Talkline, an Elk Grove Village-based service that has offered telephone counseling to adults for the past 10 years.
1986 Advertising Age 9 Jan. 7 Incredible Dial-A-Message Directory..lists more than 2,500 telephone numbers... There are a few lines that would curl Ma Bell's blue hair. An example is the High Society Sexline.
1990 Independent 29 Jan. 8/8 The Wellington Parentline, a telephone advice service, has received 32 calls reporting violence from children towards parents.

Draft additions 1997

(Usually as the line). In various sports and games, a mark limiting an area of play on a court or pitch; spec. a mark that must be crossed in order to score; in a race, a mark on the track (actual or notional) that must be crossed in order to win; in Rugby, etc. = line of scrimmage n. at scrimmage n. Phrases 3; contextually = bye-line at bye n.1 1c, goal line n., touchline n. 3a. Also figurative in phr. (taken from American football, but influenced by sense 20b) to hold the line, to maintain or support a position, viewpoint, etc.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > [noun] > starting or finishing mark > finishing mark
marklOE
glovec1380
goal1531
winning-post1759
ending-post1760
goalpost1834
tape1867
the line1892
finishing-post1895
finish line1899
1892 Football Cal. 1892–3 63 Not more than 25 yards behind the goal line, and parallel thereto, shall be lines, which shall be called the Dead-Ball Lines.
1902 W. Camp How to play Football Introd. 10 If he elects to continue his running attempts, and eventually carries the ball across the line, he secures a touchdown at the spot where the ball is finally held, after being carried over.
1935 Encycl. Sports, Games & Pastimes Pl. 30 (caption) A throw-in from the line.
1965 Austral. Encycl. VII. 535/2 Prizes are awarded both for the handicap and for the first yacht across the line.
1976 J. Archer Not Penny More xiv. 162 They're neck and neck—one hundred yards to go—it's anybody's race and on the line it's a photo finish.
1978 Rugby World Apr. 40/3 They played commendably open and entertaining Rugby, scoring a total of 30 tries and failing on only one occasion to cross their opponents' line.
1987 Greyhound Star Sept. 7/5 The other semi went to Rogley Avalong who led from trap to line in 34.49.

Draft additions 1997

U.S. Betting. The odds quoted by a bookmaker, esp. on a non-racing event (cf. morning line n. at morning n., adv., and int. Compounds 5); also, the point-spread predicted in a football game, from which such odds are calculated.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > betting > [noun] > odds
odds1748
price1829
betting1901
line1964
1964 Maclean's 7 Mar. 14/2 A line of ‘Ottawa eight’ for an Ottawa–Edmonton football game means that Ottawa must win by eight points or more or its backers lose.
1976 N.Y. Times 15 Dec. a18 He is an amateur oddsmaker and has access to ‘the Las Vegas line’, the gambling underworld's football point spread.
1979 Maclean's 22 Jan. 35 The line, published in many daily newspapers, establishes for bookmakers and bettors across the continent the team favored to win each game and by how many points.
1992 Esquire Feb. 63/1 It was his line out of Las Vegas upon which all the bets across the country on college and pro games were based.

Draft additions 1997

a. In certain team games, a strategic formation of players in a row, as for a throw-in; spec. in Rugby = three-quarter line n. at three-quarter n., adj., and adv. Compounds; in Rugby Union = line-out n.1
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > characteristics of team ball games > [noun] > actions or manoeuvres
ball1483
through-pass1673
intercept1821
fielding1823
outfielding1851
wrist stroke1851
goalkeeping1856
shot1868
scrimmage1872
passing1882
save1883
touchback1884
angle shot1885
shooting1885
pass1887
line1891
tackling1893
feeding1897
centre1898
chip shot1899
glovework1906
back-lift1912
push pass1919
aerial1921
screen1921
ball-hawking1925
fast break1929
tackle1930
chip1939
screenshot1940
snapshot1961
hang time1969
one-two1969
blooter1976
passback1976
sidefoot1979
1891 Football News 12 Sept. 1/4 The Newark Committee were very desirous to see the line of forwards opposed to some really good backs.
1896 B. F. Robinson Rugby Football xii. 209 Away it flies, fair and true, about half-way down the long line.
1929 Daily Express 15 Apr. 16/2 The line never moved with a swing that looked like bringing a goal.
1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 13 Jan. 39/5 Doug Acomb and Frank Hamill scored two goals each as their line turned in one of its best performances of the season.
1976 Leicester Mercury 14 Oct. 46/1 When the ball did come down the line it inevitably went to John Reeve.
1991 Don Heinrich's Pro Preview 91 28/2 Right tackle Howard..Ballard has come a long way since quarterback Jim Kelly fingered him two years ago as the line's weak link.
b. A dose of a powdered narcotic, esp. cocaine, laid out in a thin line for inhalation. slang.
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the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > [noun] > line of narcotics for inhalation
line1971
rail1983
1971 Black Scholar Sept. 36/1 He..rolled a ten dollar bill up into a quill and gave the coke and quill to Christine, who snorted half of the line on the card.
1980 Observer 30 Mar. 1/6 Everybody I know takes heroin... Every party I go to has smack available, lines and lines of it.
1988 J. McInerney Story of my Life iv. 59 Didi's just bought her stash for the night and she wants to come over. God, I don't know. A couple of lines would be nice, but I've got class in the morning.
1988 J. McInerney Story of my Life iv. 61 She rolls her own bill, [and] does a couple of monster lines—what Didi calls lines other people call grams.
1990 K. Wozencraft Rush iv. 49 I snuffed up the lines and passed the tooter back to him.
1992 Guardian 28 Mar. (Weekend Suppl.) 9 Some Krug, a couple of Es, a few lines and, nowadays, it shows. I suppose it's called getting old. I'm 26.

Draft additions 1997

spec. = airline n. 2.
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society > travel > air or space travel > transport by air > [noun] > public service airline
airline1890
air service1911
airway1920
line1920
1920 Aerial Year Bk. 261/2 Many commercial lines have been established for carrying passangers.
1935 C. G. Burge Compl. Bk. Aviation 217/1 Where there is competition with other lines on the London–Paris route, this comfort is found to attract custom.
1960 C. H. Gibbs-Smith Aeroplane xiii. 99 The world's first daily commercial scheduled air service opened on August 25th [1919]... The line was operated..by..Aircraft Transport and Travel Ltd.
1965 M. Spark Mandelbaum Gate v. 134 ‘There's a Dutch line from Amman...’ ‘Well, Joanna, there's no record of the name Vaughan on any of the airlines.’
1977 Rolling Stone 30 June 81/1 After a mere forty-minute lay-over we were to connect with that line's nine-hour-plus direct flight to Honolulu.

Draft additions 1997

Biology. = lineage n. Additions 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > heredity or hereditary descent > [noun] > line of descent > species each evolving from predecessor
lineage1940
line1951
1951 G. S. Carter Animal Evol. i. 30 This conception is very different from that generally held a few years ago. A population was then thought of as consisting of many lines or lineages, each evolving more or less independently and replacing each other as the result of natural selection.
1973 J. Bronowski Ascent of Man i. 38 Australopithecus robustus is manlike and his line does not lead elsewhere; it has simply become extinct.
1979 D. Attenborough Life on Earth (1981) ii. 35 To trace the invertebrate lines back to their origins, we must find another site where rocks were not only deposited continuously throughout this critical period, but have survived in a relatively undistorted condition.
1992 Nat. Hist. Feb. 70/3 Falk also notes common features in the brain venous sinuses of gracile australopithecines and hominids,..and she constructs the lineage accordingly. A. gracilis led to the hominid line in which brain size increased so dramatically.

Draft additions 1997

spec. A breed or variety of plant or animal universally characterized by a feature or trait whose strength is the criterion for continued selection by breeders. Cf. line-bred adj., line-breeding n. at Compounds 2 below.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > variety or species > [noun] > types of
stroller1723
natural order1785
subvariety1785
line1805
alliance1835
aggregate1859
stirps1866
segregate1871
cultigen1918
agamospecies1929
the world > animals > domestic animal > [noun] > livestock > stock or breed > with strong trait ensuring continued selection
line1805
1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. II. xiii. 1103 It would appear that..the most certain method..is to breed in the same line, perhaps in the same family; as, by a careful procedure in this way, the expert breeder may not only have the greatest security for attaining that improvement which he is anxious to produce, but run the least risk of deterioration.
1909 R. H. Lock Recent Progress Study Variation, Heredity & Evol. (ed. 2) xi. 318 In a single pure line genetic variability is sensibly absent. The members of such a pure line exhibit, however, very considerable acquired variability, so that in this way each line shows a normal variability of its own.
1974 A. Huxley Plant & Planet xiii. 123 Continuously self-pollinated plants of one species in limited habitats may produce such pure-breeding ‘lines’ as to create virtually new species.
1985 E. H. Hart German Shepherd Dog iv. 66 It is..not that these lines have disappeared; it is just that they have not been so seriously bred upon as they once had been.

Draft additions 1997

a.
The scent that the hounds have of the quarry; esp. in to hit off the line, to pick up the scent after a check.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting with hounds > work done by hounds > action of hounds [verb (intransitive)] > strike scent
scenta1398
find1565
hit it off1704
to hit off a fault1749
to hit off the line1977
1898 St. James's Gaz. 15 Nov. 6/1 Hounds drove along after their fox in rare style,..the line was worked out to Houghton.
1900 Ld. Coventry in A. E. T. Watson Young Sportsman 352 An old hound drops his nose; he shows a line; his companions follow his lead.
1930 I. Bell in C. Frederick et al. Fox-Hunting v. 59 They will try hard all day on a poor scent, yet at the first improvement..will quicken on the line.
1930 C. Aldin in C. Frederick et al. Fox-Hunting xxvi. 257 The huntsman hits off the line again with hardly a check.
1977 Abingdon Herald 17 Mar. 6/6 They were lifted back towards Besselsleigh, hit off the line again, and killed on the plough near the woods.
1991 Sports Illustr. 14 Jan. 5/3 The lead hound gives tongue, and the pack takes off, following the line of scent.
b. In Golf, the direction of the hole from the position of a player's ball. In Cricket, the direction of flight of the ball from the bowler's hand; frequently in to play (hit, etc.) across the line.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > bowling > bowl [verb (intransitive)] > motion of ball
to make haste?a1475
twist?1801
cut1816
shoot1816
curl1833
hang1838
work1838
break1847
spin1851
turn1851
bump1856
bite1867
pop1871
swerve1894
to kick up1895
nip1899
swing1900
google1907
move1938
seam1960
to play (hit, etc.) across the line1961
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > bowling > [noun] > a ball bowled > properties of
length1772
pace?1801
bias1822
pitch1833
line1961
1961 Times 18 Aug. 3/3 At 18 Pullar was bowled by Davidson, playing across the line.
1969 Times 25 Aug. 9/2 Harris, eventually, was leg-before, hitting enthusiastically across the line.

Draft additions 1997

line switch n. Telephony Originally: any switch for connecting a subscriber's line. Now: a preselector.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > telephone equipment > [noun] > exchange > exchange equipment
private line1852
bank1884
call-disc1884
howler1886
trunk1889
multiple switchboard1891
rack1893
line switch1898
heat coil1900
relay rack1902
multiple1905
listening key1906
telharmonium1906
wiper1906
preselector1912
line finder1922
rank1924
routiner1928
keysender1929
uniselector1930
wiper arm1933
1898 J. Bell & S. Wilson Pract. Telephony xii. 157 Suppose No. 5 wishes to speak to No. 3, he turns the handle of the line-switch until the pointer is opposite 3, presses the ringing button, takes the receiver off the hook, and, after finishing conversation, replaces the receiver, which causes the pointer to return automatically to zero.
1909 Trans. Amer. Inst. Electr. Engineers 1908 27 509 For the benefit of those not familiar with automatic switchboards, the writer will state that each line terminates in what is generally called a line switch.
1924 H. H. Harrison Introd. Strowger Syst. Autom. Telephony i. 26 The preselector or line switch..hunts to find one of ten or more idle group selectors.
1938 C. W. Wilman Automatic Teleph. (ed. 2) iii. 20 Each subscriber's line is now connected to the wipers of a single-motion, non-numerical selector, known as a lineswitch.
1982 G. Langley Telephony's Dict. 115/1 Lineswitch, a switch in a dial office which connects a subscriber's line with the first available idle trunk in the next switching stage.

Draft additions September 2016

Medicine. A length of sterile tubing inserted into an artery or (more commonly) a vein in order to provide temporary access, esp. for the purpose of administering fluids, withdrawing blood samples, etc.
ΚΠ
1951 Ann. Surg. 134 716/2 The pressure in the arterial line was 1200 mm. Hg due to use of a small cannula.
1967 Dis. of Chest 51 451/1 A hole in the intravenous line..will allow air to be actively drawn into the system without leakage of fluid. This occurs when the line is raised above the hydraulic gradient.
2007 New Yorker 10 Dec. 88/3 She put a third, slightly thicker line, for dialysis, through his right upper chest and into the subclavian vein.

Draft additions June 2003

figurative. (to draw, run, etc.) a line in the sand: (to establish) a limit or boundary; (to specify) a level of tolerance or a point beyond which one will not go.
Π
1850 Boston Post 23 July 2/5 He would prefer striking out the clause prohibiting the establishment or exclusion and extending the Missouri line without an express recognition of slavery south of it. It would be running a line in the sand.
1953 Daily Republican (Mitchell, S. Dakota) 28 July 4/1 The Communists..were obviously trying to see how far they could go before the free world drew a line in the sand and said,‘This is it.’
1978 Washington Post 29 Aug. a7/5 Notwithstanding the supposed public revulsion toward more federal spending, waste and bureaucracy-building, Congress seems to have gone out of its way to draw a wide line in the sand in front of Carter.
1995 Village Voice (N.Y.) 7 Mar. 20/2 From an organized-labor point of view, this is the line in the sand, the bottom of the ninth, the sudden death overtime.
1996 Scotsman 23 July 15/1 Whenever John Major draws a line in the sand, you can be sure some Eurosceptic bully will come along and kick it in his face.
2001 ON 5 Feb. 67/2 Like many other administrators, Hagen has become more willing to draw a line in the sand sooner and threaten troublemakers with expulsion sooner.

Draft additions March 2015

the latest (also last) in a long line of and variants: the most recent of many such examples; the latest manifestation of an established phenomenon or familiar pattern.
Π
1857 W. Isham in Mag. of Trav. 1 xxxix. 357 A temple..[which is] the last in a long line of architectural wonders, commencing with the pyramids.
1890 Shelbyville (Indiana) Daily Democrat 25 Nov. 2/1 Nebraska..is the latest in a long line of states that have..emphatically rejected the nostrum.
1952 Econ. Jrnl. 62 398 An agrarian movement which is only the latest of a long line of similar movements.
1994 J. Campbell Pride's Last Race i. 4 This was only the last in a long line of irritations and problems.
2011 Scotsman (Nexis) 30 Aug. 43 This is only the latest in a long line of public criticisms of its investment practices.

Draft additions September 2018

colloquial (chiefly North American regional, Australian, and New Zealand). up the line: denoting a place or region further along a railway line or road, esp. a place situated to the north or in a more remote or rural area. Also used adverbially: in or towards such a place. Now also English regional (Devon and Cornwall): outside of Devon or Cornwall.
ΚΠ
1873 Stevens Point (Wisconsin) Jrnl. 1 Nov. The city has been full of ‘carpet baggers’ from up the line all week.
1944 M. Trist in Coast to Coast 1943 225 Else and that fellow from up the line. There's been sin.
1951 J. Kerouac On the Road: Orig. Scroll (2007) 126 A fairly new car stopped... ‘Where you going?’ ‘Denver.’ ‘Well I can take you a hundred miles up the line.’
1992 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 4 Sept. a3 The Richardsons had..scores of relatives ‘up the line’ and a family cottage near Perth.
2003 Western Morning News (Plymouth) (Nexis) 8 May 11 The South West's wealthy are apparently going up the line to Bristol and Bath to spend their money.
2012 @samkev22 11 Nov. in twitter.com (O.E.D. Archive) He came down from up the line just so he could go to remembrance service on plymouth hoe.

Draft additions December 2019

line of report n. Business (originally) a channel of communication between two or more individuals, departments, etc.; (later usually) a system or relationship in which an employee reports to or is accountable to a particular manager; cf. report v. 3c, reporting line n. at reporting n. Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
1902 Street Railway Rev. 20 June 340/1 The accompanying diagram..shows the scheme of organization recently put in effect there... The solid lines indicates the direct line of report and the dotted lines indirect lines of report which may be necessary when emergencies arise.
1984 M. A. Allison & E. Allison Managing up, managing Down xvii. 202 They are to accept assignments and direction only from you (or those senior to you in your line of report).
2015 Strategic Finance June 43/1 This involves clearly defining accountability for each role filled as well as delineating the lines of report.

Draft additions March 2020

line break n. a point at which text is split into two lines; the end of a line.Particularly used in the context either of lines of poetry or of hyphenation of a word at the end of a line of continuous text.
Π
1918 Jrnl. Educ. (Univ. of Boston School of Educ.) 7 Nov. 460/1 With all the strained adjectives, sprained similes, absurd line-breaks, absolute prose, and absolute bosh of many devotees of the ‘New Poetry’.
1990 B. Harkness & S. W. Reid in J. Conrad's Secret Agent 307 (note) [The first edition and manuscript] have in common a total of six..hyphenated forms, but two are at a line break in the MS, and only one of these appears to represent a genuine word-division hyphen.
2014 N.Y. Times 15 Sept. (Late ed.) b4/2 Some have hired programmers to hand-code poetry e-books so that line breaks and stanzas are maintained.

Draft additions June 2017

line call n. Sport (esp. Tennis) a decision made by a line judge, umpire, etc., as to whether a ball is out of play.
ΚΠ
1947 N.Y. Times 25 June 42/4 He became visibly disturbed by a line call.
1994 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 29 Aug. 38 The Canadian rallied in the second set and, aided by a dubious line call, skipped away to a 5-0 lead.
2013 Vanity Fair July 84/1 Four Courts, including Centre Court and No. 1 Court, are equipped with Hawk-Eye cameras to help decide line calls.
2013 S. S. Bates Topspin 120 She threw a little tantrum whenever she thought we made a bad line call.

Draft additions September 2013

line-caught adj. (of a fish) that has been caught by angling rather than in a net or trawl.
ΚΠ
1866 Jrnl. Agric. Jan. 376 Line-caught fish hauled up from great depths reach the surface of the water either dead or dying.
1992 M. Blonsky Amer. Mythologies (1993) iii. 92 Petrossian's more adept clientele know that his salmon is always line-caught to avoid the damage that can occur in seine-caught fish.
2007 Independent on Sunday 10 June (New Review) 57/1 Sea trout, river trout and salmon are all beautiful at this time of year—but you should always look for wild and line-caught.

Draft additions September 2018

line cook n. originally and chiefly North American a chef responsible for a particular area (or line) of production in the kitchen of a restaurant; a chef de partie.
ΚΠ
1965 Daily Jrnl.-Gaz. (Mattoon, Illinois) 8 Apr. 11/2 (advt.) Day shift help needed... 2 Line cooks.
1989 Ploughshares 15 70 He'd taken a job as a line cook at a truckstop in Red Bluff.
2000 A. Bourdain Kitchen Confid. (2001) 295 When you're a hungry, underpaid line cook, those filet mignons you're searing off by the dozen look mighty good.
2015 Philippines Daily Inquirer (Nexis) 7 May She was many things, but she never was a line cook in a restaurant.

Draft additions December 2013

line defect n. (a) a defect in a telegraph, telephone, or electricity line; (b) Crystallography a defect in a crystal lattice in the form of a linear dislocation of the atoms, such as an edge dislocation or a screw dislocation.
ΚΠ
1874 F. J. Goldsmid Telegraph & Trav. v.257 Major Champain reached Baghdad on the 5th March, having carefully scrutinised the line defects apparent on the road.
1918 Electr. World 16 Mar. 586/3 Notice of line defect.—In action for death of child from contact with a wire of a fence electrified by defendant's live wire, which had fallen upon it.
1938 U.S. Patent 2,113,140 4/2 The relays constitute part of a control means for adjusting the supervisory trip control for line defects.
1953 L. S. Darken & R. W. Gurry Physical Chem. Metals iii. 73 Line defects (dislocations). These provide the most widely accepted mechanism, or mechanisms, for plastic deformation.
1987 Physics Bull. Mar. 109/1 The types of crystal defect revealed in electron micrographs include line defects (dislocations), planar defects (stacking faults, twins) and small inclusions.
1987 InfoWorld (Nexis) 1 June 60 This study measured line defects over a large sample of long-distance connections.
2011 A. C. Reardon Metall. for Non-metallurgist (ed. 2) ii. 22/2 The main type of line defect is an edge dislocation, where a partial plane of extra atoms is present either above or below the dislocation line.

Draft additions June 2017

line judge n. Sport (in games played on a field or court) an official who assists the referee or umpire from the sideline or touchline, especially in deciding whether the ball is out of play; cf. line umpire n. at Additions.
ΚΠ
1925 North-China Herald 19 Dec. 530/1 There were neither line judges not referee.
1971 Sunday Times 31 Jan. 12/1 Tennis players lecture the line judge.
2014 S. Starkey Revenge of Bully vii. 74 The line judge walked over and picked up the ball I had spiked.

Draft additions June 2017

line umpire n. Sport (esp. Tennis) (in games played on a field or court) an official who assists the referee or umpire from the sideline or touchline, especially in deciding whether the ball is out of play; cf. line judge n. at Additions.
ΚΠ
1883 Morning Post 12 July 3/6 Messrs. Bird and Frere were the line umpires.
1920 Scotsman 31 Dec. 9/3 Brookes striking one return deliberately out in order to restore an assumed mistake by a line umpire.
2014 S. Levmore in S. Levmore & M. C. Nussbaum Amer. Guy xi. 224 Tennis players occasionally make calls against self-interest even where a line umpire is present.

Draft additions September 2022

line coach n. American Football an assistant coach in charge of the linemen; (now) spec. a coach of either the defensive or offensive line, as in defensive line coach, offensive line coach (cf. defensive line n. (b) at defensive adj. and n. Compounds, offensive line n.).
ΚΠ
1896 San Francisco Chron. 24 Feb. 5/7 This year he was line coach of the Yale team.
1949 Life 7 Nov. 11/2 The line coaches worked overtime trying to turn an assortment of backs, guards and tackles into ends in time for the next game.
1996 AFCA's Defensive Football Drills (Amer. Football Coaches Assoc.) i. 18 The defensive line coach designates who will rush and which technique he will use.
2011 Herald-Times (Bloomington, Indiana) (Nexis) 13 Apr. All offensive line coaches teach their players to hit and hit hard, and the line coaches under Bill Lynch were no exception.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online December 2022).

linen.3

Forms: In quots. lyne; see also lique n.
Etymology: < Old French lin, ligne, ling(e.
Obsolete.
Some kind of ship.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > other types of vessel > [noun]
farcost1284
lumbar13..
trowc1330
linec1400
rampinc1500
skey1507
lique1523
sakre1546
salve1588
magara1592
bonaventure1592
centaur1622
Greenlander1692
jackass1826
c1394 J. Malverne Contn. Higden (Rolls) IX. 91 Franci et Hispani in uno balynger et una lyna sulcantes maria circa ora maritima Angliæ.]
c1400 T. Walsingham Hist. Angl. (Rolls) II. 135 Duæ grandes galeyæ, et aliud genus ratis quod vocatur ‘lyne’, et una bargia, et septem balingariæ.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. cccxxviii. 514 He made redy for him a shyp, called the Lyne, the whiche wolde go on the see with all maner of wyndes without perell.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online March 2021).

linen.4

Categories »
‘a hat-maker's pad’, given in some dictionaries (as an application of line n.1) seems to be a spurious word, due to a misreading of lure n.2
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online June 2018).

linev.1

Brit. /lʌɪn/, U.S. /laɪn/
Forms: Middle English–1600s lyne, Middle English lynyn, 1600s loyn, Middle English– line.
Etymology: < line n.1; with primary reference to the frequent use of linen as a lining material for articles of clothing.
1.
a. transitive. To apply a second layer of material (usually different from that of the article ‘lined’) to the inner side of (a garment; in later use, any covering or containing object); to cover on the inside.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > tailoring or making clothes > tailor or make clothes [verb (transitive)] > line
double14..
stuffc1400
linec1405
the world > space > relative position > condition of being internal > make internal or interior [verb (transitive)] > line
linec1405
underlay1502
underline1545
interlard1632
case1812
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 442 In sangwyn and in Pers he clad was al Lyned with Taffata and with Sendal.
1432 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 91 A russet gounne lynyt with whythe blanket.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. ccxxxix The sleues and brest were cutte, lyned with cloth of golde.
1591 T. Lodge Catharos (1875) 30 Thou buiest a warme gowne against Winter and linest it well.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 742 Then must the inside be lined with boords, to the intent that the beast..make no euasion.
1664 A. Wood Life & Times (1892) II. 24 For loyning and lengthning my new yarn stockings, 3d.
1676 R. Wiseman Severall Chirurg. Treat. vi. v. 423 You may use..Tin~plates lined with soft Linings to receive the fractured Member.
1679 A. Wood Life & Times (1892) II. 449 Dr. Michael Roberts..died with a girdle loyned with broad gold about him (100li. they say).
1718 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 28 Aug. (1965) I. 431 The Church of the Anunciata is finely lin'd with Marble.
1795 E. Burke Lett. Peace Regic. France iv, in Wks. (1818) IX. 123 An ambassador, whose robes are lined with a scarlet dyed in the blood of Judges.
1820 S. Smith Mem. (1855) II. 197 Lady Granville is nervous on account of her room being lined with Spitalfields silk.
1830 R. Southey in Fraser's Mag. Apr. 256 With amianth he lined the nest, And incombustible asbest.
1845 G. Budd On Dis. Liver 147 Abscesses,..lined by a distinct, but very thin membrane.
1872 J. Yeats Techn. Hist. Commerce 339 A mode of lining culinary..articles with enamel.
b. transferred and figurative.
ΚΠ
c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme lv. 29 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 56 Mischeif cloth'd in deceit, with treason lin'd.
1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 16 Nature hath..lined them [sc. serpents] with a more thicke and substantiall flesh.
1649 Bp. J. Hall Resol. & Decisions ii. vii. 175 How can you escape to be involved in a treason, lined with perjury?
1693 J. Dryden tr. Juvenal in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires vi. 122 Unless some Antidote..lines with Balsom all the Noble parts.
1745 E. Young Complaint: Night the Eighth 26 With modest Laughter lining loud Applause.
1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters ii. 149 In a few minutes..it is lined with bright, small air bubbles.
1780 W. Cowper Table Talk 59 The diadem with mighty projects lined.
1785 W. Cowper Task i. 310 The willow such, And poplar that with silver lines his leaf.
2. To strengthen by placing something along the side of; to reinforce, fortify. Also figurative. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) ii. iv. 7 To lyne and new repayre our Townes of Warre. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) i. iii. 110 He..did lyne the Rebell with hidden helpe, And vantage. View more context for this quotation
a1626 F. Bacon Considerations War with Spain in Misc. Wks. (1629) 43 Two Generals,..lined and assisted with Subordinate Commanders of great Experience.
a1659 F. Osborne Characters in Wks. (1673) 630 Your Resolution is too well lined by Philosophy against the storms of Danger, to admit a Parley with any force but that of Reason.
1665 T. Manley tr. H. Grotius De Rebus Belgicis 275 The upper part of the Town, where the Walls were not lined with banks, he thought fit to batter.
1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I To Line a Work, is to strengthen a Rampart with a firm Wall, or to encompass a Parapet or Moat with good Turf, &c.
1761 C. Churchill Rosciad 18 Receiv'd, with joyful murmurs of applause, Their darling chief, and lin'd his fav'rite cause.
3. To fill (one's purse, pockets, stomach, etc.) with something that may be spoken of as a lining; to cram, stuff.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > presence > fact of taking up space > take up (space or a place) [verb (transitive)] > fill > stuff or cram
cramc1000
pitchc1300
thrustc1380
purra1398
stopc1400
farcec1405
stuffc1440
line?1521
enfarce1531
threstc1540
pack1567
prag1567
prop1568
referse1580
thwack1582
ram1590
pang1637
farcinate1638
stivea1639
thrack1655
to craw outa1658
trig1660
steeve1669
stow1710
jam1719
squab1819
farcy1830
cram-jam1880
jam-pack1936
?1521 A. Barclay Bk. Codrus & Mynalcas sig. Av He had a pautner, with purses manyfolde And surely lyned, with syluer and with golde.
1549 R. Crowley Voyce Laste Trumpet sig. Bviii Thou wylt viset no sicke man That cannot lyue thy pursse with gould.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 i. iii. 27 Who lined himselfe with hope, Eating the ayre, and promise of supplie. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) ii. vii. 154 The Iustice, In faire round belly, with good Capon lin'd . View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) ii. iii. 65 What If I do line one of their hands, 'tis Gold Which buyes admittance. View more context for this quotation
1633 P. Massinger New Way to pay Old Debts iv. i. sig. H3v Alw. I will not faile my Lord. Greed. Nor I to line My Christmas coffer.
1669 J. Dryden Wild Gallant i. i. 5 When I have lined my sides with a good dinner.
1673 J. Dryden Assignation Prol. sig. A6 You come to Plays with your own Follies lin'd.
1731 ‘C. Crambo’ Mr. Bowman's Serm. 29 Tho' such Change would line our Breeches.
1795 J. O'Keeffe Friar of Orders Gray (song) ii With old sack wine I'm lin'd within.
1820 W. Combe Second Tour Dr. Syntax xxvii. 42 For now I have my purse well lin'd Nor doth a fear assail my mind.
1824 W. Carr Horæ Momenta Cravenæ Gloss. 90 Lined, drunk. ‘He's weel lined’.
1866 J. G. Whittier Maids of Attitash 30 No bridegroom's hand be mine to hold That is not lined with yellow gold.
4. To cover the outside of; to overlay, drape, pad, literal and figurative; to face (a turf-slope). Obsolete exc. Nautical, to add a layer of wood to.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > cover [verb (transitive)]
beteec893
wryOE
heelOE
hilla1240
forhilla1300
covera1400
curea1400
covertc1420
paviliona1509
overdeck1509
heild?a1513
deck?1521
overhale1568
line1572
skin1618
operculate1623
endue1644
theek1667
to do over1700
sheugh1755
occlude1879
1572 G. Gascoigne Councell to Withipoll in Hearbes (1575) 152 Theyr smoothed tongues are lyned all with guyle.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §158 A Soft Body dampeth the Sound, much more than a Hard..And therefore in Clericalls, the Keyes are lined.
1663 A. Wood Life & Times (1891) I. 481 The rayles..were loyned in mourning.
1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. i. 5 A fuzzy kinde of substance like little sponges, with which she [Nature] hath lined the soles of her [the fly's] feet.
1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville Theory & Pract. Gardening 67 Slopes..require more Circumspection in the Method of lining them with Turf.
1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship I. 31 Bowsprits made of two trees, are coaked together in the middle, and bolted as masts, and lined to the size.
1796 C. Marshall Gardening (1813) xviii. 293 If the bed gets over cool, line it, or cover round with straw.
5. In certain technical senses (chiefly to line up).
a. Bookbinding. To glue on the back of (a book) a paper covering continuous with the lining of the back of the cover.
ΚΠ
1880 J. W. Zaehnsdorf Art of Bookbinding xix. 85 This class of work is not lined up. The leather is stuck directly upon the book.
1885 W. J. E. Crane Bookbinding xv. 118 Before lining the back, the headband should be set.
b. Cabinet-making. To put a moulding round (the top of a piece of furniture).
ΚΠ
1889 Work 22 June I. 234/1 A small toilet table was being lined up.
6. To serve or be used as a lining for. (Cf. senses 1, 3, 4.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being internal > make internal or interior [verb (transitive)] > line > serve as a lining for
line1726
1726 J. Swift Bec's Birth-day 8 Nov. 34 Domestic business never mind Till coffee has her stomach lin'd.
1733 J. Swift On Poetry 10 Your Poem sunk, And sent in Quires to line a Trunk.
1794 W. Cowper Needless Alarm 15 Wide yawns a gulf beside a ragged thorn; Bricks line the sides, but shivered long ago.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam lxxv. 105 These mortal lullabies of pain May bind a book, may line a box. View more context for this quotation
1885 Law Times Rep. 52 738/1 Small quantities of gold and silver..became embedded in the bricks lining the furnaces.
1892 Speaker 3 Sept. 289/2 Wild rose..falling..down to the daisied grass that lines the ditches.
1895 I. Zangwill Master ii. iv. 167 Caricatures of..sensuous faces lined the walls.

Draft additions 1997

spec. in Cookery, to cover the inside of (a dish, tin, or other vessel) with pastry, paper, etc., esp. before baking.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > distance > nearness > be near to [verb (transitive)] > be in contact with > border on
toucha1387
coastc1400
border1535
to bound on?1577
mere1577
board1596
bank1598
skirt1602
tract1612
bounder1636
buttal1642
border1647
hadland1649
line1846
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > general preparation processes > perform general preparation processes [verb (transitive)] > line dish
line1846
1846 A. Soyer Gastron. Regenerator 696 A round-bottomed basin..which line with two thirds of the paste.
1861 I. M. Beeton Bk. Househ. Managem. 854 Having lined a hoop with buttered paper, fill it with the [cake] mixture.
1908 F. A. George Vegetarian Cookery v. 56 Butter a pie-dish and line it with half the lentil paste.
1948 Good Housek. Cookery Bk. 552 For sponge sandwiches line the bottom of the tins with a round of greaseproof paper.
1978 C. Conran Brit. Cooking 195/2 Summer pudding... Take a 1-litre..pudding basin and line it with slices of bread.
1992 Food Entertaining Summer 88/3 Line a baking tray with baking parchment (not greaseproof paper) and smooth on the meringue mixture.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

linev.2

Brit. /lʌɪn/, U.S. /laɪn/
Forms: Also Middle English–1500s lyne.
Etymology: < line n.2 Compare Latin līneāre, French ligner (Old French lignier), Spanish linear, Italian lineare.
1. transitive. To tie with a line, string, or cord (rare); †to string (a bow) (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > production and development of arms > produce or develop arms [verb (transitive)] > string a bow
linea1398
stringc1400
society > occupation and work > industry > working with tools or equipment > fastening > fasten [verb (transitive)] > with rope, cord, or line
linea1398
ropea1400
cord1610
string1613
kinch1808
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xvii. xcvii. 988 Þe flex is..ygadered al hool. And is þanne lyned.
c1480 (a1400) St. John Evangelist 478 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 123 Þe ȝunge man þan his bov bent syne, and vith his hand þare-vith can lyne.
1872 M. S. De Vere Americanisms 131 Cunning mules..are lined, that is, the forefoot is tied to the hindfoot on the same side.
2. To measure or test with a line, to cut to a line; also absol. Occasionally figurative to reach as with a measuring-line. Obsolete except in technical use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > measure (off) a length or distance [verb (transitive)] > with a line
linea1400
a1400 Burgh Laws cv, in Sc. Stat. I Þat þai sall leilly lyne in lenth as braidnes baith foir part and back part of þe land.
1466 Contract 25 June in R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. (1886) III. 93 The bordes shalbe lynyd and leyd on hye on the gistes.
1541 Aberd. Reg. XVII. in J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. (1825) The Baillies ordanit the lynaris to pass to the ground of the said tenement, and lyne and marche the same, &c.
c1575 Balfour's Practicks (1754) 44 I sall lyne landis lellelie betwix parteis.
1650 H. Vaughan Silex Scintillans 56 A sweet self-privacy in a right soul Out-runs the Earth, and lines the utmost pole.
1708 J. C. Compl. Collier 12 in T. Nourse Mistery of Husbandry Discover'd (ed. 3) As they line or sound for the depth of a River.
1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 116 Then if the trunk is to be squared it is ‘lined’. The string is fastened at one end, and, mounting the tree, the foreman moves the line about until he finds what branches should be cut away to trim the trunk to the best advantage.
3.
a. (U.S.) To angle with a hook and line. rare.
ΚΠ
1833 [implied in: J. V. C. Smith Fishes Massachusetts 262 It [Weak-Fish] is taken both by lining and seining. (at lining n.2 5)].
b. transitive and intransitive. To guide or control a boat or canoe from the bank or shore of a stretch of inland water by means of a rope or ropes. North American.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > propelling other than by sail or oars > propel boat other than by sail or oars [verb (transitive)] > guide or control by ropes
line1907
1907 J. G. Millais Newfoundland 305 Several times they packed everything for a mile or two, but negotiated most of the worst rapids by ‘lining’ down them.
1912 H. Footner New Rivers of North 125 No one has ever descended it alive, but there is a tradition that a party of Iroquois Indians in the ‘company's’ employ once lined a boat up.
1923 L. R. Freeman Colorado River 356 The low stage.. gave them room to work below instead of lining from a ledge, eighty feet above the water.
1944 T. Onraet Down North ii. 29 The skiff was too heavy for carrying, and to line it down as we had done in the rapids above was impossible.
1969 E. W. Morse Fur Trade Canoe Routes i. i. 5 Provided that the shoreline was reasonably free of snags, the canoe was lined (tracked).
4. To trace with, or as with, a line or lines; to delineate, sketch. Chiefly in combination with adverbs to line in: to put in with a hard pencil the permanent lines of (a freehand drawing); also, to insert (objects) in the outline of a picture. to line off: to mark off by lines. to line out: to trace the outlines of (something to be constructed); to prescribe in general outline; to forecast, adumbrate.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > drawing plans or diagrams > make plan or diagram of [verb (transitive)]
to set down in plat1508
to plat forth1556
delineate1579
plot1588
plat1589
trace1599
to line outa1616
lineament1638
to lay down1669
design1697
plan1734
draught1828
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > drawing > draw [verb (transitive)]
writeeOE
drawa1398
descrivec1400
describe1538
to draw forth1539
to set out1545
design1570
to draw out1576
detrain1587
lineate16..
linea1616
redraw1728
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > drawing > draw [verb (transitive)] > in specific manner
trick1545
purfle1601
profile1715
outline?1790
black1840
to line in1886
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) iii. ii. 90 All the pictures fairest Linde, are but blacke to Rosalinde. View more context for this quotation
1618 G. Mynshul Ess. Prison 1 My purpose is, with dim water-colours to line me out a heart.
1649 R. Baxter Saints Everlasting Rest (new ed.) iv. xiii. §1 I have..lined you out the best way that I know for your successful performance.
1677 A. Yarranton England's Improvem. 138 Here is a way plainly lined out to cheat the Rats and Mice.
1799 J. Robertson Gen. View Agric. Perth 264 Mr. D...has boldly lined off streets and a market place through the very heart of the moor.
1819 W. Scott Legend of Montrose ii, in Tales of my Landlord 3rd Ser. IV. 36 He again strongly conjured him to construct a sconce upon the round hill called Drumsnab, and offered his own friendly services in lining out the same.
1880 G. Meredith Tragic Comedians II. iii. 43 She had seen them [sc. mountain heights] day after day thinly lined on the dead sky.
1886 W. Milligan Bk. of Revelation (1887) vi. 231 The picture may not yet be realised in fulness, but every blessing lined in upon its canvas is in principle the believer's now.
1889 Internat. Ann. Anthonys Photogr. Bull. 304 Thick or compressed lips, open or sunken eyes, straight or hooked noses, may enable one to roughly line out a disposition.
5. To mark with a line or lines; to impress lines upon; to cover with lines. Also with off, out. to line out: spec. to delete, obliterate. to line through: to draw a line through (an entry), to cross out.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > memory > effacement, obliteration > efface, obliterate [verb (transitive)] > erase by marking
strikec1386
to rub offa1425
cancelc1440
streakc1440
cross1483
outstrike1487
line1530
to strike out1530
dash1549
to strike off1597
cancellate1664
damask1673
score1687
to run through1817
overscore1834
blue-pencil1883
stroke1885
caviar1890
to stencil out1891
to strike through1898
ex1935
x1942
society > communication > indication > marking > mark [verb (transitive)] > with lines
score1495
line1530
strike1539
lineate1558
interline1572
rule1599
quote1601
the world > life > the body > skin > textures or states of skin > [verb (transitive)] > wrinkle
frounce1390
shrinka1398
rivel1543
irrugate1566
wrinkle1566
plough1590
wrinklec1590
furrow1597
purse1598
ruge1615
trench1624
lirkc1686
seam1695
line1819
wrink1821
engrain1862
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 611/2 Have you lyned your paper yet?
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 612/1 I lyne, as a carpenter dothe his tymber with a coloured lyne before he square it.
1703 Moxon's Mech. Exercises (new ed.) 100 The Stuff being thus lined is fastned with wedges over the Pit.
1756 P. Browne Civil & Nat. Hist. Jamaica ii. ii. 130 It [the land] must be lined out into oblong squares.
1819 P. B. Shelley Rosalind & Helen 25 Selfish cares with barren plough, Not age, had lined his narrow brow.
1826 E. Irving Babylon II. v. 64 The chart was lined off..for tracing upon it the rise, and progress.
1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) xiii. 120 This entry was afterwards lined through.
1859 C. Dickens Tale of Two Cities i. iv. 11 He had a healthy colour in his cheeks, and his face, though lined, bore few traces of anxiety.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. To line a ship, is to strike off with a batten, or otherwise, the directional lines for painting her.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Line out stuff, to mark timber for dressing to shape.
1874 S. J. P. Thearle Naval Archit. (new ed.) I. 99 The edges and butts of the plates are lined off.
1892 Daily News 26 Jan. 3/1 Every piece of wood [should] be correctly lined before being cut or planed.
1900 A. Black in Expositor Sept. 223 The pale wronged face, lined with melancholy resignation.
1963 S. Weintraub Private Shaw & Public Shaw iii. 94 G.B.S...both edited and altered the language of the..contract,..boldly lining out large passages and inserting new ones.
6. To read out (a metrical psalm, a hymn) line by line for the congregation to sing. Also to line out.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > church music > [verb (transitive)] > sing or chant > lead singing
set?c1450
to take up1577
line1853
hist1857
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > singing > sing [verb (transitive)] > precent
set?c1450
to take up1577
precent1639
tune1667
line1853
hist1857
1853 N. D. Gould Hist. Church Mus. Amer. 47 This custom..of reading, or lining, or, as it was frequently called, ‘deaconing’ the hymn or psalm in the churches.
1885 Cent. Mag. 29 549/2 The preacher was lining out a hymn. He lined out two lines, everybody sung it.
7. U.S. To follow the line of flight of (bees).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (transitive)] > watch or observe > follow with eyes > specific bees
line1827
1827 J. F. Cooper Prairie I. v. 78 I had lined a beautiful swarm that very day into the hollow of a dead beech.
1833 H. Martineau Briery Creek ii. 32 Girls..lining the wild bees to their haunt in the hollow tree.
1879 J. Burroughs Locusts & Wild Honey 25 I emerged..just in time to see the runaways disappearing over the top of the hill... Lining them as well as I could, I soon reached the hill-top.
8.
a. transitive. To bring (ships, soldiers, etc.) into a line or into line with others; to bring (one's boat) into line with that of (another). Hence U.S. to assign (a person) to (certain work). Also, to aim in a direct line upon an object. to line up (originally U.S.): to align, arrange, deploy, produce, or make ready (someone or something); also in various slang uses (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > quality or fact of being in a line (with) > bring into (a) line [verb (transitive)]
align1693
allineate1785
line1796
to bring into (a) line1851
parallelize1853
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > arrangement in (a) row(s) or line(s > form (a) row(s) or line(s [verb (intransitive)]
rank1582
range1697
to fall in (also into) line1747
line1790
to line up1796
to toe a (also the) line (or mark, scratch, crack, trig)1813
daisy-chain1968
society > occupation and work > working > labour supply > [verb (transitive)] > appoint to an office or position
setc1000
to make placea1387
give1535
placea1568
locate1602
shop1808
berth1865
line1886
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > use or make use of [verb (transitive)] > use for specific purpose > specifically a person
to line up1906
the world > action or operation > undertaking > preparation > prepare [verb (transitive)]
yarec888
yarkc1000
graithc1175
readya1225
biredienc1275
to make yarec1290
forgraitha1300
adightc1330
buskc1330
purveyc1330
agraith1340
disposec1375
before-graithea1382
to forge and filec1381
to make readya1382
devisec1385
bounc1390
buss?a1400
address?a1425
parel?a1425
to get upc1425
providec1425
prepare1449
bakec1450
aready1470
arm?a1505
prevenea1522
get?1530
to get ready1530
to get ready1530
to set in readiness1575
apply1577
compose1612
predy1627
make1637
to dispose of1655
do1660
fallowa1764
to line up1934
prep1936
tee1938
1796 Instr. & Regulations Cavalry 251 The pivots being lined, and the wheeling distances being true.
a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 665/1 Peep sight, a form of hind sight for rifles. It has an opening through which the muzzle sight is lined upon the object.
1884 Instr. Mil. Engin. (ed. 3) I. ii. 75 Too much time must not..be lost in lining the gabion accurately.
1886 Philadelphia Times 21 Mar. No actor of American birth and training can be lined to this class of work.
1891 Daily News 28 Dec. 3/1 The cast iron frames are lined up in place before the concrete is poured in.
1899 Daily News 29 July 8/7 Blackstaffe..crossed over in front of Howell and lined him.
1902 Westm. Gaz. 20 Aug. 8/2 (citing a New York newspaper) I..shall not really feel like myself till I get my coat off and line-up a few trust presidents in front of me for general inspection and drill.
1904 ‘G. B. Lancaster’ Sons o' Men 41 They were fence-making down at the homestead, and there was no man in the district could line up standards in the same day with Muggins.
1906 Forum (N.Y.) Oct. 253 The university president must refuse to be lined up by any clique or party.
1910 Chambers's Jrnl. May 282/2 After the conflagration, the smaller débris is collected into heaps and reburned, until the ground is sufficiently cleared to admit of being lined up for planting.
1913 G. J. Kneeland Commercialized Prostitution N.Y. 65 She was ‘lined up’ about a year ago by a gang that ‘hangs out’ in a cigar store on East 14th Street. Since then she has been a regular prostitute.
1926 J. Black You can't Win xiii. 181 We located a big poker game in a soft spot and decided to line up the players.
1931 W. G. McAdoo Crowded Years x. 142 I did not see how Clark could possibly line up two thirds of the..votes.
1932 E. Wallace When Gangs came to London viii. 58 You can tell the police all about this... But don't tell more'n the truth, or ever try to line me up by my voice.
1934 P. G. Wodehouse Right ho, Jeeves ix. 94 I tell you I have everything nicely lined up.
1939 L. Coffee & W. J. Cowen Family Portrait ii. i. 74 But I'd lined up a big job here—(adds importantly) with the Romans.
1941 S. J. Baker Pop. Dict. Austral. Slang 43 Line up to, to approach, accost a person.
1953 E. Taylor Sleeping Beauty x. 175 Don't line up another one [sc. drink] for me.
1958 New Statesman 6 Sept. 263/1 Mr. Lim soon called for ‘a united Socialist front’, which would line up his Labour Front party with the right wing against the extreme left.
1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio 270 Sine tones are useful for studying frequency response and for lining up equipment.
1970 Language 46 318 All of the sentences have been ‘lined up’ with respect to the end of phonation.
1973 G. Greene Honorary Consul i. i. 26 It pays to be a consul... Permission to import a new car... I suppose he's got a general lined up in the capital to buy it.
b. intransitive (a) To present to the eye a line of a specified kind. (b) To form a (good) line with others; to fall into line; also with out, up; figurative to come up to a certain line. (c) To run in line with; to border upon.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > quality or fact of being in a line (with) > be or become in a line (with something) [verb (intransitive)]
even1663
align1781
line1790
track1826
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > arrangement in (a) row(s) or line(s > form (a) row(s) or line(s [verb (intransitive)]
rank1582
range1697
to fall in (also into) line1747
line1790
to line up1796
to toe a (also the) line (or mark, scratch, crack, trig)1813
daisy-chain1968
(a)
1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship I. 16 Masts that have cheeks differ in this; they line tapering athwartships... The aftsides of top-masts line straight.
(b)1790 By-stander 159 This the printers describe by saying a letter does not line well.1796 Instr. & Regulations Cavalry 47 The men as they come up endeavour to line well on the part already formed.1887 M. Shearman Athletics & Football (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) 316 The forward must always be ready to line up and face one man, and one only.1888 Pall Mall Gaz. 12 June 5/2 Nearly two hundred ‘old students’ lined up to receive the Royalties.1894 Daily News 8 Oct. 2/7 The two old birds and the four cygnets then lined out in battle array.1897 Outing 30 334/1 These boats..enjoyed a world-wide renown for their speed, anterior to their lining up against boats of another type.(c)1881 Harper's Mag. Feb. 433/2 Three hundred acres of good fresh land, lining..with the Booker estate.
c. Baseball. To hit a line-drive; to hit (a ball) hard and low. Frequently const. out.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > baseball > play baseball [verb (transitive)] > actions of batter
pop1867
foul1870
poke1880
pole1882
bunch1883
line1887
to foul off1888
rip1896
sacrifice1905
pickle1906
to wait out1909
pull1912
single1916
pinch-hit1929
nub1948
tag1961
tomahawk1978
1887 Courier-Jrnl. (Louisville, Kentucky) 26 May 2/6 He smashed the first ball that came over the plate, and lined out a beautiful hit past second base.
1948 Daily Ardmoreite (Ardmore, Okla.) 28 Apr. He..lined out to centerfield and walked twice in five trips to the plate.
1970 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 25 Sept. 31/3 Bob Robertson lined a double down the rightfield Line.
1972 N.Y. Times 4 June v. 2/5 Willie struck out, lined to Carty in left field, popped to second base and walked.
9.
a. To arrange a line (originally of troops) along (a hedge, road, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > arrangement in (a) row(s) or line(s > arrange in (a) row(s) or line(s [verb (transitive)] > arrange a line along
line1684
1684 Scanderbeg Redivivus v. 115 And Lined the Wood on each side of the Narrow Way with several Companies of Musqueteers.
1703 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion II. vi. 102 They having lined the Hedges behind them with their Reserve.
1740 S. Speed in Buccleuch MSS (Hist. MSS Comm.) (1899) I. 393 Their coasts were lined with soldiers on that account.
1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall (1869) II. xliii. 611 The ramparts were lined with trembling spectators.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas IV. x. iii. 49 The walks well gravelled and lined with orange trees.
1812 Ann. Reg., Gen. Hist. 139 The numerous batteries with which it [the shore] is there lined.
1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk. II. 155 At such times the street is lined with listeners.
1835 E. Bulwer-Lytton Rienzi II. vi. ii. 299 He came into a broad and spacious square lined with palaces.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. v. 580 The thick hedges which on each side overhung the narrow lanes, were lined with musketeers.
1859 J. M. Jephson & L. Reeve Narr. Walking Tour Brittany vii. 88 A fine quay lined with shipping.
1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 8 The Greeks..lined the southern shores of Italy with that fringe of colonies, which [etc.].
1895 I. Zangwill Master i. x. 112 A cutting in the hill lined with overhanging snow-drifts.
b. To have or take one's place or (of inanimate objects) to have a place in line along (a road, etc.).In both significations the verb is now apprehended with a mixture of the sense of line v.1
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > arrangement in (a) row(s) or line(s > arrange in (a) row(s) or line(s [verb (transitive)] > arrange a line along > have place in a line along
line1598
1598 R. Barret Theorike & Pract. Mod. Warres iii. 48 At that instant haue the shot, that line the battell, their time to serue.
a1671 T. Fairfax Short Mem. (1699) 30 They..had set about five hundred Musketeers to line the hedges about the Town.
1707 London Gaz. No. 4345/3 The Streets were lin'd by the Militia.
1746 J. Hervey Medit. (1818) 126 The violet..condescends to line our edges.
1783 J. Hoole tr. L. Ariosto Orlando Furioso IV. xxxv. 496 Not feeble years, nor childhood stay'd, but all Alike impatient throng'd to line the wall.
1801 Asiatic Ann. Reg. 1800 Chron. 55/2 Council-house-street..was lined by the body guard.
1861 M. Pattison in Westm. Rev. Apr. 413 Broad landing quays covered with cranes lined the river bank.
1869 C. Boutell tr. J. P. Lacombe Arms & Armour viii. 132 The English archers..lined the pass.
1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) IV. 126/2 For some twenty years he annually dispatched ten or twelve vessels to the ports lining the Mediterranean.
c. line out (intransitive and transitive), to transplant (seedling trees) from beds into nursery lines, where they are grown on before being moved to their permanent situation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > [verb (transitive)] > transplant trees
transpose?1518
line out1931
1931 Forestry 5 17 Care in handling between lifting from seed-beds and lining out is of the utmost importance.
1938 C. P. Ackers Pract. Brit. Forestry v. 180 Seedlings may be left for 1, 2, or 3 years in the seed-beds: they are then lined out and become transplants.
1957 N.Z. Timber Jrnl. Oct. 73/1 Line out, to transplant seedlings from seedbeds to rows in a nursery. This normally takes place after the first or second year in the seedbed; further lining out may take place again in the same or another nursery.
1970 H. L. Edlin Collins Guide to Tree Planting & Cultivation vi. 90 Trees are always transplanted in the nursery along straight lines, and the work is therefore often called lining-out.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

linev.3

Brit. /lʌɪn/, U.S. /laɪn/
Forms: Also Middle English, 1500s lyne, 1500s loin.
Etymology: < French ligner.
transitive. Of a dog, wolf, etc.: To copulate with, to cover.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > sexual organs and reproduction > [verb (transitive)] > copulate with
entera1425
alignc1425
line1495
cover1535
serve1577
befilth1593
topa1616
back1658
strenea1728
mate1932
service1947
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > [verb (transitive)] > actions of Canidae
whelpc1175
line1495
1495 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (de Worde) xviii. xxv. sig. bbvv/1 The Yndens teche bytches and leue them in wodes by nyghte for Tygres shold lyne [a1398 BL Add. lenen or leuen] them & gendre wt them.
1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) I. 57 And scho was lynit with ony of that birth, Sic hundis thai said for hunting ar na worth.
1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie ii. 5 From that time forwards they beganne to haue bitches lined by that dogge, and so to haue a race of them.
1587 W. Harrison Descr. Eng. (1878) iii. vii. ii. 49 The Indians, who tie their sault bitches often in woods, that they might be loined by tigers.
1687 J. Dryden Hind & Panther i. 11 These last deduce him from th' Helvetian kind Who near the Leman lake his Consort lin'd.
1727 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Oeconomique (Dublin ed.) at Dog Mongrels, that come from a Hound-bitch, that has been lin'd by a Dog of another Kind.
1889 St. G. Mivart Truth 379 Analogous effects are often produced when a thorough-bred bitch has been once lined by a mongrel.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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