rectilinearityn.
/ˌrɛktᵻˌlɪnɪˈarᵻti/, U.S. /ˌrɛktəˌlɪniˈɛrədi/ The state or property of being rectilinear; rectilinear nature; an instance of this. Also figurative: rectitude, rigidity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > a straight course > [noun] > straightness of course or movement
rectilinearity1810
directness1816
the world > space > shape > straightness > [noun] > rectilinear quality
rectitude1578
rectilinearity1863
1810 W. Marriott Antiq. of Lyme 230 The form of this, contrary to the rectilinearity of the others, is semi-circular.
1840 T. P. Thompson Let. 14 July in Exercises (1842) V. 67 The rectilinearity of the law.
1863 C. Lyell Geol. Evid. Antiq. Man xiii. 233 The uniformity, parallelism,..and rectilinearity of the so-called glacial furrows.
1905 Daily Chron. 28 Nov. 4/5 They are making place for brand-new mediæval buildings..set in streets of admirable rectilinearity.
1916 A. S. Kaun tr. A. A. Kornilov Mod. Russ. Hist. I. 83 Of his former radicalism and Jacobinism remained a rectilinearity of character.
1990 H. E. Kyburg Sci. & Reason x. 178 None of this matters: these are not the forces and rectilinearities with which we are concerned.
2005 T. Brookes Guitar 55 The steel broke the rectilinearity of the fingerboard: the player could now command an infinite number of notes or tones.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1810