line

See also: Appendix:Variations of "line"

English Wikipedia has an article on:

line

Wikipedia

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Line (unit)

Wikipedia

Pronunciation

enPR: līn, IPA^(key): /laɪn/
- Audio (US): (file)
(General Australian) IPA^(key): /lɑɪn/, [lɑe̯n]
- Audio (General Australian): (file)
Rhymes: -aɪn

Etymology 1

From Middle English line, lyne, from Old English līne (“line, cable, rope, hawser, series, row, rule, direction”), from Proto-West Germanic *līnā, from Proto-Germanic *līnǭ (“line, rope, flaxen cord, thread”), from Proto-Germanic *līną (“flax, linen”), from Proto-Indo-European *līno- (“flax”). Influenced in Middle English by Middle French ligne (“line”), from Latin linea. More at linen.

The oldest sense of the word is “rope, cord, thread”; from this the senses “path”, “continuous mark” were derived.

Noun

line (plural lines)

A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight.
The arrow descended in a curved line.
1. (geometry) An infinitely extending one-dimensional figure that has no curvature; one that has length but not breadth or thickness.
  Synonym: straight line
2. (geometry, informal) A line segment; a continuous finite segment of such a figure.
  Synonym: line segment
3. (graph theory) An edge of a graph.
4. (geography) A circle of latitude or of longitude, as represented on a map.
5. (geography, 'the line' or 'equinoctial line') The equator.
6. (music) One of the straight horizontal and parallel prolonged strokes on and between which the notes are placed.
7. (cricket) The horizontal path of a ball towards the batsman (see also length).
8. (soccer) The goal line.
  - 2011 October 1, Clive Lindsay, “Kilmarnock 1-2 St Johnstone”, in BBC Sport:
    St Johnstone's Liam Craig had to clear off the line before Steven Anderson sent a looping header into his own net for the equaliser on 36 minutes.
9. (automotive) A particular path taken by a vehicle when driving a bend or corner in the road.
  - 2021 February, The Road Ahead, Brisbane, page 10, column 3:
    "I guess it's like race cars - if you get the right line you can come out at top speed."
A rope, cord, string, or thread, of any thickness.
A hose or pipe, of any size.
a brake line

the main water line to the house
Direction, path.
the line of sight

the line of vision
A procession, either physical or conceptual, which results from the application or effect of a given rationale or other controlling principles of belief, opinion, practice, or phenomenon.
In order to maintain a consistency in the defense, I will follow the line established by attorney Jacobs of allowing the prosecution to suggest motives, and then refuting them.
The wire connecting one telegraphic station with another, a telephone or internet cable between two points: a telephone or network connection.
I tried to make a call, but the line was dead.

a dedicated line; a shared line

Please speak up, the line is very faint.
A clothesline.
We need to take the clothes off the line. The news reported a front is coming in from the east, and we can expect heavy rain and maybe hail.
- 1985, Joan Morrison, Share House Blues, Boolarong Publications, page 26:
  She feels guilty for pampering him, and salves her conscience by bossily ordering him to go and fetch the clothes from the line[.]
A letter, a written form of communication.
Synonyms: epistle, letter, note

Drop me a line.
A connected series of public conveyances, as a roadbed or railway track; and hence, an established arrangement for forwarding merchandise, etc.
a line of stages

an express line
(especially military) A trench or rampart, or the non-physical demarcation of the extent of the territory occupied by specified forces.
The exterior limit of a figure or territory: a boundary, contour, or outline; a demarcation.
- 1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost, volume IV:
  Eden stretch'd her Line / From Auran Eastward to the Royal Towrs / Of great Seleucia,
A long tape or ribbon marked with units for measuring; a tape measure.
(obsolete) A measuring line or cord.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 44:13:
  The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house.
That which was measured by a line, such as a field or any piece of land set apart; hence, allotted place of abode.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 16:6:
  The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.
A threadlike crease or wrinkle marking the face, hand, or body; hence, a characteristic mark.
Lineament; feature; figure (of one's body).
A more-or-less straight sequence of people, objects, etc., either arranged as a queue or column and often waiting to be processed or dealt with, or arranged abreast of one another in a row (and contrasted with a column), as in a military formation. [from mid-16th c.]
Synonyms: (Canada) lineup, (UK, Ireland) queue

get in line

The line forms on the right.

There is a line of houses.
- 1817, Percy Shelley, The Revolt of Islam:
  A band of brothers gathering round me, made, / Although unarmed, a steadfast front […] now the line / Of war extended, to our rallying cry / As myriads flocked in love and brotherhood to die.
1. (military, nautical) Ellipsis of line of battle.
(military) The regular infantry of an army, as distinguished from militia, guards, volunteer corps, cavalry, artillery, etc.
(music) A series of notes forming a certain part (such as the bass or melody) of a greater work.
- 2015, Mícheál Houlahan, Philip Tacka, Kodály in the Third Grade Classroom:
  Students and the instructor sing the harmony line while the instructor plays the melody line on the piano.
A series or succession of ancestors or descendants of a given person; a family or race; compare lineage.
A small amount of text. Specifically:
1. A written or printed row of letters, words, numbers, or other text, especially a row of words extending across a page or column, or a blank in place of such text.
  Synonym: row
  
  The answer to the comprehension question can be found in the third line of the accompanying text.
2. A verse (in poetry).
  - 1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet 71:
    Nay if you read this line, remember not, / The hand that writ it.
3. A sentence of dialogue, especially [from late 19th c.] in a play, movie, or the like.
  He was perfecting his pickup lines for use at the bar.
  
  "It is what it is" was one of his more annoying lines.
  - 2010, Alison Hodge, Actor training, page 138:
    Anyone who has worked with Littlewood will wince at the memory of going over single lines time and time again, each actor in turn speaking the line until the valid intonation, phasing and emphasis emerged.
4. A lie or exaggeration, especially one told to gain another's approval or prevent losing it.
  Don't feed me a line!
Course of conduct, thought, occupation, or policy; method of argument; department of industry, trade, or intellectual activity. [from earlier 17th c.]
- 1823 April 27, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Kean—Sir James Mackintosh—Sir H. Davy—Robert Smith [Robert Percy Smith?]—Canning—National Debt—Poor Laws”, in H[enry] N[elson] C[oleridge], editor, Specimens of the Table Talk of the Late Samuel Taylor Coleridge. […], volume I, London: John Murray, […], published 1835, →OCLC, page 25:
  He [Mackintosh] is uncommonly powerful in his own line; but it is not the line of a first-rate man.
The official, stated position (or set of positions) of an individual or group, particularly a political or religious faction. [from later 19th c.]
Remember, your answers must match the party line.
(slang) Information about or understanding of something. (Mostly restricted to the expressions get a line on, have a line on, and give a line on.)
Judy gave me a line on a lawyer who's supposed to be the best in the business.
- 1916 March 11, Charles E. Van Loan, “His Folks”, in Saturday Evening Post‎:
  She's got the best line on Hickey. Maybe she knows a way to put the heart back into him.
A set of products or services sold by a business, or by extension, the business itself. [from early 19th c.]
line of business, product line

How many buses does the line have?

The airline is in danger of bankruptcy.
- 1890, Illinois State Dairymen's Association, Annual Report (volume 16, page 21)
  Have nothing to do with snide goods; let it be known throughout the world that the farmers and dairymen, yea, and those engaged in other industries in the great State of Illinois, produce only the best of everything in their lines, and we will be the last to feel the effects of over-production.
(stock exchange) A number of shares taken by a jobber.
Any of an ill-defined set of units of length, varying according to the country, discipline, industry, and date of application, commonly with no indication of the intended magnitude:
- 1847, Sir Erasmus Wilson, On Diseases of the Skin. Second edition:
  Withof estimates that the hair of the beard grows one line (French) in the course of a week, let us call it one line and a half (Engish); this would amount to six inches and a half yearly...
1. (historical) A tsarist-era Russian unit of measure, approximately equal to one tenth of an English inch, used especially when measuring the calibre of firearms.
2. One twelfth of an inch.
  - 1883, Alfred Swaine Taylor, Thomas Stevenson, The principles and practice of medical jurisprudence:
    The cut is measured in thickness from a quarter of a line to a line and a half (a line is one-twelfth of an inch).
3. One sixteenth of an inch.
4. One fortieth of an inch.
  - 1922, “Statement of James Turner, Representing Universal Button Fastening Co., Detriot, Mich.”, in Hearings Before the Committee on Finance, United States Senate, page 5337:
    In case any of the committee do not understand what is meant by a rate per line, I may say that buttons, being very small, are not measured by the foot or inch, but by the line, a line being one-fortieth of an inch. For example, that is a 27-line button […].
(advertising) Short for agate line.
- 1912, Miscellaneous Series, numbers 7-11, page 25:
  Advertising rates, line contract, less than 500 agate lines, 12 cents per line; 1,000 to 2,000 lines, 7 cents; 5,000 to 10,000 lines, 5 cents.
(historical) A maxwell, a unit of magnetic flux.
(baseball, slang, 1800s, with "the") The batter's box.
(fencing) The position in which the fencers hold their swords.
Synonym: line of engagement
- 1861, George Chapman, Foil Practice, with a Review of the Art of Fencing, page 12:
  Thus, for example, in the line of Quarte, the direct thrust is parried by dropping the point under the adversary's blade and circling upwards, throwing off the attack in the opposite line (that of Tierce), and upon the direct thrust in the line of Tierce, by a similar action throwing off the attack in the opposite line (that of Quarte).
(engineering) Proper relative position or adjustment (of parts, not as to design or proportion, but with reference to smooth working).
the engine is in line / out of line
(informal) A small path-shaped portion or serving of a powdery illegal drug, especially cocaine.
I watched him take a line of cocaine.
(obsolete) Instruction; doctrine.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 19:4:
  Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun.
(genetics) A population of cells derived from a single cell and containing the same genetic makeup.
(perfusion line) a set composed of a spike, a drip chamber, a clamp, a Y-injection site, a three-way stopcock and a catheter.
(ice hockey) A group of forwards that play together.
(Australian rules football) A set of positions in a team which play in a similar position on the field; in a traditional team, consisting of three players and acting as one of six such sets in the team.
(medicine, colloquial) A vascular catheter.
patient had a line inserted

line sepsis

Quotations

1387, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales:
Of his lineage am I, and his offspring / By very line,
c. 1604, William Shakespeare, Macbeth:
They hail'd him father to a line of kings.
c. 1609, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Cymbeline:
I mean, the lines of my body are as well drawn as his.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 19:4:
Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun.
1651, Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan:
[T]he rest of the history of the Old Testament derives the succession of the line of David to the Captivity, of which line was to spring the restorer of the kingdom of God […].
1651, John Cleveland, “Fuscara”, in George Saintsbury, editor, Minor poets of the Caroline period, published 1921):
He tipples palmistry, and dines On all her fortune-telling lines.
1789, Olaudah Equiano, chapter 1, in The Interesting Narrative, volume I:
Benin […] is situated nearly under the line, and extends along the coast about 170 miles […] .
1812-1818, Lord Byron, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage:
Though on his brow were graven lines austere.
1816, Percy Shelley, The Daemon of the World:
The atmosphere in flaming sparkles flew; / And where the burning wheels / Eddied above the mountain’s loftiest peak / Was traced a line of lightning.
1851, Herman Melville, chapter 54, in Moby Dick:
She [a ship called Town-Ho] was somewhere to the northward of the Line.
1884, Mark Twain, chapter 9, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn:
Then we hunted up a place close by to hide the canoe in, amongst the thick willows. We took some fish off of the lines and set them again, and begun to get ready for dinner.
c. 300 BC, Euclid, Elements, Book I, Definition ii; translated in 1885, Casey, John (ed. and trans.), The First Six Books of the Elements of Euclid […] , London: Longman, Green, & Co, third edition; republished by Project Gutenberg on April 14, 2007, ebook #21076, updated July 18, 2022, page 2.
A line is length without breadth.
1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 111:
And all this, too, in a country only twelve degrees south of the line; I wonder the men worked as well and as steadily as they did, for I never saw Europeans work in any tropical country as our Port Darwin labourers did.
1898, Alfred Eugene Wiener, Practical calculation of dynamo-electric machines, page 47:
At the same time, however, for calculation in the metric system, one metre is taken as the unit for the length of the conductor, one metre per second as the unit velocity, and one line per square centimetre as the unit of field density.
1903, William Richard Kelsey, Continuous current dynamos and motors and their control, page 39:
The density will now be only one quarter of a line per square centimetre, and therefore a unit pole placed at a distance of 2 centimetres from a similar pole, will only be acted on with a force of one quarter of a dyne, […].
1904, Silvanus Phillips Thompson, Dynamo-electric machinery: a manual for students of electrotechniques: Volume 1, Part 1, page 74:
The Paris Congress of 1900 adopted the name gauss as that of the unit of intensity of field, one gauss signifying one line per square centimetre. The same Congress also named one line as one maxwell, but everybody still uses the term line.
1906, Reports of military observers to the armies in Manchuria, page 261:
The arm of the Russian infantry is the three-line rifle, model 1891 (caliber 0.299 inch) […].
1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter IV, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
So this was my future home, I thought! […] Backed by towering hills, the but faintly discernible purple line of the French boundary off to the southwest, a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.
1909, Henry Metcalf Hobart, Electricity: a text book designed in particular for engineering, page 58:
A magnetic flux is said to have a density of one line per square centimeter when it exerts on a unit north pole a force of one dyne.
1917, John Masefield, The Old Front Line:
This description of the old front line, as it was when the Battle of the Somme began, may some day be of use. […] It is hoped that this description of the line will be followed by an account of our people's share in the battle.
1918, Norman Lindsay, The Magic Pudding, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 52:
"Ho, aboard the Salt Junk Sarah,
Rollin" home across the line,
The Bo'sun collared the Captain's hat
And threw it in the brine."
1973, Final Environmental Statement for the Geothermal Leasing Program, US department of the interior:
There is the possible hazard of an oil spill in case the line breaks but normal pipeline maintenance and safety measures, etc., are designed to prevent large or long continued spillage.
1975, “Tangled Up in Blue”, in Bob Dylan (music), Blood on the Tracks:
I muttered somethin' underneath my breath / She studied the lines on my face / I must admit I felt a little uneasy / When she bent down to tie the laces of my shoe / Tangled up in blue.
1981 October, Popular Science, volume 219, number 4, page 113:
To the end of the metal fuel line (where it fits into the carb) you attach a four-foot length of flexible fuel line.
1983, “White Lines (Don't Do It)”, performed by Grandmaster Melle Mel:
Buy white line, go a long way / Either up your nose or through your vein / With nothing to gain except killing your brain
1989 December 17, Laura Briggs, “Abortion Activists Stop Operation Rescue”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 23, page 3:
Hundreds of pro-choice demonstrators held the line to prevent members of the anti-choice group Operation Rescue OR) from blockading the doors to the Repro women's health clinic […] representing a major shift in pro-choice strategy.
1991 April 6, Steve Rose, “A Human Drama”, in Gay Community News, page 5:
The way in which other progressives and liberals in our activist community buy into Washington's overwhelmingly pro-Israeli line.
1998, Luke Davis, Candy:
"Let's have a line." He pulled a razor blade from his pocket and scooped out a couple of mounds. He laid out seven thick lines on a mirror. He rolled up a fifty-dollar note and snorted a line.
2002, Mark C. Carnes, Invisible Giants, page 220:
By subtly altering classical ballet steps, she extended the line of the dancer's body and introduced a new kind of athleticism and verve to ballet.
2004, Burl Barer, Broken Doll, page 64:
"Yes, we did. We both did a line, but maybe close to a half gram of crystal meth. I did a line and he did a way much bigger line."
2007, Robert Newcomb, A March Into Darkness, page 29:
[…] he found preparing the hook far less fun than dangling the line in the water and waiting for a fish to come along. Finally succeeding, he beamed a smile up at his father, then lowered his line into the swift-moving Sippora.
2007, D. C. Fuller, Meth Monster: Crankin' Thru Life a Look Into the Abyss, page 474:
Snorting it was a much slower blast off and a longer less intense buzz, that was much easier to function on. A few minutes after you snort a line you can feel the niacin rush coming up your back and washing over your head, […].
2008, Joshua Plunkett, Jeanne K. Hanson, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Trees and Shrubs, page 164:
Use fabric or nursery grade webbing around stakes and trunk, loosely tying the line to the tree about 6 inches below the point where the tree bounces back in your hand when you grab the trunk.
2009, Jory Sherman, Sidewinder:
For their present position, he drew an inverted V. Then he drew a line and on either side he inscribed landmarks, ridges, passes. At the other end he drew a number of inverted Vs to represent the Arapaho village.
2013, Jeph Jacques, Questionable Content (webcomic), Number 2386: The Thin White Line:
"You know that scene in Lady and the Tramp where they're slurping up both ends of a noodle and end up kissing?" "Y-yes..." "It was like that, but with a line of cocaine instead of pasta."
2013, The United States in the First World War: An Encyclopedia, →ISBN, page 561:
A “line” was a unit of measurement used in tsarist Russia and equal to about a tenth of an inch. The 3-line rifle, therefore, had a bore of three lines, or approximately .30 caliber.
2019 September 10, Jonathan Guyer, The American Prospect‎, number Fall 2019:
Omar has challenged Elliott Abrams’s record in Latin America, taken a firm line against Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, and advocated for—wait for it—the two-state solution for Israel and Palestine (even though the headlines have focused on her expressing support for the right to boycott as a tactic).

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

→ Scottish Gaelic: loidhne

Translations

rope, cord, or string

Afrikaans: lyn
Asturian: filu m, llinia f
Bashkir: бау (baw), (thick) арҡан (arqan)
Bulgarian: връ́зка (bg) f (vrǎ́zka), шнур (bg) m (šnur)
Danish: linje (da) c
Dutch: lijn (nl) f, touw (nl) n
Ewe: ka n
Finnish: naru (fi), nuora (fi), nyöri (fi), liina (fi)
Galician: fío (gl), liña (gl) f, tralla f
German: Leine (de) f
Greek: σπάγκος (el) m (spágkos)
Hindi: रस्सी (hi) (rassī), डोरी (hi) f (ḍorī)
Irish: dorú (ga) m
Italian: corda (it) f, fune (it) f, cima (it) f
Luhya: elaini
Macedonian: ја́же n (jáže), ко́нец m (kónec), га́јтан (mk) m (gájtan)
Ottoman Turkish: ایپ (ip), خلاط (halat), طنب (tunub), ریسمان (risman)
Polish: lina (pl) f
Portuguese: fio (pt) m, linha (pt) f
Romanian: funie (ro) f, frânghie (ro) f, sfoară (ro) f, șnur (ro) n, ață (ro) f
Russian: верёвка (ru) f (verjóvka), шнур (ru) m (šnur), линь (ru) m (linʹ), ле́ска (ru) f (léska) (for fishing)
Spanish: hilo (es) m, línea (es) f
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Swedish: lina (sv) c
Turkish: hat (tr), çizgi (tr)
Ukrainian: моту́зка f (motúzka), шнур m (šnur), ни́тка (uk) f (nýtka)
Welsh: lein f

path through two or more points, threadlike mark

Afrikaans: lyn
Albanian: linjë (sq) f
Arabic: خَطّ (ar) (ḵaṭṭ)
Egyptian Arabic: خَطّ m (ḵaṭṭ)
Armenian: գիծ (hy) (gic)
Asturian: llinia f
Azerbaijani: cızıq, cizgi (az), xətt (az)
Bashkir: һыҙыҡ (hıźıq)
Basque: marra
Belarusian: лі́нія f (línija), ры́са (be) f (rýsa)
Bengali: রেখা (bn) (rekha), লাইন (bn) (lain)
Bhojpuri: रेखा (rēkhā)
Bulgarian: ли́ния (bg) f (línija)
Burmese: လိုင်း (my) (luing:)
Catalan: línia (ca) f
Chamicuro: yis̈hna
Chinese:
Mandarin: 直線 / 直线 (zh) (zhíxiàn), 線 / 线 (zh) (xiàn)
Czech: čára (cs) f, lajna (cs) f
Danish: linje (da) c
Dutch: rechte (nl) f, lijn (nl) f, streep (nl) f
Esperanto: linio (eo)
Estonian: liin (et), joon
Ewe: fli n
Farefare: foole
Finnish: viiva (fi)
French: ligne (fr) f, trait (fr) m
Galician: liña (gl) f
Georgian: ხაზი (ka) (xazi)
German: Linie (de) f
Gothic: 𐍃𐍄𐍂𐌹𐌺𐍃 m (striks)
Greek: γραμμή (el) f (grammí)
Ancient: γραμμή f (grammḗ)
Hebrew: קַו (he) m (kav)
Hindi: रेखा (hi) f (rekhā)
Hungarian: vonal (hu)
Icelandic: lína (is) f
Indonesian: baris (id), garis (id)
Irish: líne f
Istriot: reîga f
Italian: linea (it) f, riga (it) f
Japanese: 線 (ja) (せん, sen), ライン (ja) (rain)
Kazakh: сызық (syzyq)
Khmer: បន្ទាត់ (km) (bɑntŏət)
Korean: 줄 (ko) (jul), 선(線) (ko) (seon), 라인 (ko) (rain)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: xet (ku) f, hêl (ku) f
Kyrgyz: сызык (ky) (sızık)
Lao: ເສັ້ນ (sen), ເສັ້ນຊື່ (sen sư̄)
Latvian: līnija (lv) f
Lithuanian: linija (lt) f
Luhya: elaini
Macedonian: ли́нија f (línija)
Malay: garisan (ms)
Manx: linney f
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: шугам (mn) (šugam)
Norman: lîngne f
Norwegian: linje (no) m or f
Bokmål: linje (no) m or f
Persian: خَطّ (fa) (xatt), کَش (fa) (kaš)
Polish: linia (pl) f
Portuguese: linha (pt) f, risco (pt) m, traço (pt) m
Russian: ли́ния (ru) f (línija), черта́ (ru) f (čertá), штрих (ru) m (štrix)
Sanskrit: रेखा (sa) f (rekhā)
Scottish Gaelic: loidhne f
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: ли́нија f, цр̏та f

Roman: línija (sh) f, cȑta (sh) f
Sindhi: ريکا
Slovak: čiara f
Slovene: črta (sl) f
Spanish: línea (es) f, rasgo (es) m, trazo (es) m, vírgula (es) f (thin)
Sundanese: gurat (su)
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Swedish: linje (sv) c
Tajik: хат (tg) (xat)
Telugu: గీత (te) (gīta)
Thai: เส้น (th) (sên), เส้นตรง (th) (sên-dtrong)
Tocharian B: sälyiye
Turkish: çizgi (tr)
Turkmen: çyzyk
Udi: гицӏ (gic̣)
Ukrainian: лі́нія (uk) f (línija), ри́са f (rýsa)
Urdu: خَط (ur) m (xat), لائن f (lāin)
Uzbek: chiziq (uz), xat (uz)
Venetan: lìnia f, ligna f, riga f
Vietnamese: đường (vi)
Welsh: lein f
Yiddish: ליניע f (linye), שטריך m (shtrikh)

geometry: infinite one-dimensional figure

Afrikaans: lyn
Bulgarian: ли́ния (bg) f (línija)
Catalan: recta (ca)
Czech: přímka (cs) f
Dutch: rechte (nl) f, lijn (nl) f
Esperanto: rekto
Ewe: fli n
Finnish: suora (fi)
French: droite (fr) f
German: Gerade (de) f
Greek: γραμμή (el) f (grammí)
Ancient Greek: γραμμή f (grammḗ), εὐθεῖα γραμμή f (eutheîa grammḗ)
Gujarati: રેખા (gu) (rekhā)
Hindi: रेखा (hi) f (rekhā)
Hungarian: egyenes (hu)
Italian: linea (it) f
Khmer: ខ្សែ (km) (khsae)
Latin: līnea f, līnea rēcta f, euthīa f
Macedonian: пра́ва f (práva), ли́нија f (línija)
Malayalam: നേർ‌രേഖ (nēṟ‌rēkha)
Middle Persian: 𐫐𐫢 (kš /⁠kiš⁠/)
Navajo: ídzo
Persian: خَطّ (fa) (xatt), کَش (fa) (kaš)
Polish: prosta (pl) f
Portuguese: reta (pt) f
Romanian: dreaptă (ro) f, linie deaptă f
Russian: пряма́я (ru) f (prjamája) (straight); ли́ния (ru) f (línija) (possibly curved)
Spanish: recta (es) f
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Swedish: linje (sv) c
Tagalog: guhit (tl)
Turkish: doğru (tr)
Ukrainian: пряма́ f (prjamá)
Urdu: خَط (ur) m (xaṭ)

geometry: continuous finite segment of such a figure

Bulgarian: отсе́чка (bg) f (otséčka)
Catalan: segment (ca) m
Chamicuro: yis̈hna
Czech: úsečka (cs) f
Dutch: lijnstuk (nl) n, rechte (nl) f, lijn (nl) f
Esperanto: rektosegmento, streko
Ewe: fli n
Finnish: jana (fi)
German: Strecke (de) f
Greek: γραμμή (el) f (grammí), ευθύγραμμο τμήμα (el) n (efthýgrammo tmíma)
Hungarian: szakasz (hu)
Italian: segmento (it) m
Khmer: ខ្សែ (km) (khsae)
Macedonian: о́тсечка f (ótsečka)
Navajo: ídzo
Polish: odcinek (pl) m
Portuguese: segmento (pt) m
Romanian: segment (de dreaptă) n
Russian: отре́зок (ru) m (otrézok)
Spanish: segmento (es) m
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Swedish: linje (sv) c
Ukrainian: відрі́зок (uk) m (vidrízok)

graph theory: edge of a graph

Afrikaans: kant (af), lyn
Dutch: kant (nl) m, lijn (nl) f
Finnish: viiva (fi)
German: Kante (de) f
Italian: linea (it) f, riga (it) f, bordo (it) m
Polish: krawędź (pl) f
Portuguese: aresta (pt) f, arco (pt) m
Romanian: muchie (ro) f, cant (ro) n
Russian: ребро́ (ru) n (rebró)
Spanish: línea (es) f
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Ukrainian: грани́ця f (hranýcja)

geography: circle of latitude or of longitude, as represented on a map

Afrikaans: meridiaan, skeerkring, lyn
Dutch: meridiaan (nl) m, lijn (nl) f
Finnish: koordinaattiviiva
German: Breitenkreis m, Längenkreis m
Irish: líne f
Italian: meridiana (it) f, meridiano (it) m
Macedonian: линија f (linija)
Portuguese: linha (pt) f
Romanian: latitudine (ro) f, longitudine (ro) f
Russian: ли́ния (ru) f (línija)
Scottish Gaelic: loidhne f
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Ukrainian: мередіа́н m (meredián)

equator — see equator

music: one of the straight horizontal and parallel prolonged strokes on and between which the notes are placed

Dutch: regel (nl) m
Finnish: viiva (fi)
German: Linie (de) f, Taktstrich (de) m
Greek: γραμμή (el) f (grammí)
Hungarian: vonal (hu)
Italian: linea (it) f
Macedonian: ли́нија f (línija)
Polish: linia (pl) f
Portuguese: linha (pt) f
Romanian: linie de portativ (ro) f
Russian: лине́йка (ru) f (linéjka)
Spanish: línea (es) f
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Ukrainian: лі́нія (uk) f (línija)

long tape, or a narrow ribbon of steel, etc., marked with subdivisions, as feet and inches, for measuring; a tapeline

Afrikaans: maatband
Bulgarian: роле́тка f (rolétka)
Dutch: regel (nl) m, meetlat (nl) f
Finnish: mittanauha (fi)
Italian: corda (it) f, gomena (it) f, sagola f
Macedonian: ме́тро n (métro)
Maori: mārōrō
Polish: miara (pl) f, metr (pl) m
Portuguese: fita (pt) f
Romanian: metru (de măsură) m
Russian: сантиме́тр (ru) m (santimétr), руле́тка (ru) f (rulétka)
Spanish: cinta métrica (es) f
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Ukrainian: руле́тка f (rulétka)

cricket: horizontal path of a ball towards the batsman

Afrikaans: lyn
Italian: linea (it) f
Swahili: mstari (sw)

direction, path

Afrikaans: rigting (af)
Bashkir: йүнәлеш (yünəleş)
Dutch: richting (nl) f, gezichtspunt (nl) n
Finnish: linja (fi), suunta (fi)
Macedonian: правец m (pravec), насока f (nasoka)
Portuguese: caminho (pt) m
Romanian: direcție (ro) f, linie directoare (ro) f
Russian: направле́ние (ru) n (napravlénije)
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Ukrainian: на́прям m (náprjam), на́прямок (uk) m (náprjamok)

telephone or network connection

Afrikaans: lyn
Arabic: خَطّ (ar) m (ḵaṭṭ)
Bulgarian: ли́ния (bg) f (línija)
Czech: vedení (cs) n
Dutch: lijn (nl) f, aansluiting (nl) f, verbinding (nl) f
Ewe: ka n
Finnish: linja (fi)
French: ligne (fr) f
German: Leitung (de) f
Greek: γραμμή (el) f (grammí)
Hebrew: קַו (he) m (kav)
Irish: líne f
Italian: linea (it) f
Macedonian: ли́нија f (línija)
Polish: linia (pl) f
Portuguese: linha (pt) f
Romanian: linie (ro)
Russian: ли́ния свя́зи f (línija svjázi), ли́ния (ru) f (línija)
Scottish Gaelic: loidhne f
Spanish: línea (es) f
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Swedish: anslutning (sv) c, linje (sv) c
Turkish: hat (tr)
Ukrainian: телефонна лінія f (telefonna linija)
Welsh: lein f

letter, written form of communication

Dutch: brief (nl) m, regel (nl) m
Finnish: rivit pl, kirje (fi)
German: ^{(please verify)} Zeile (de) f, (to drop somebody a line=jemandem ein paar Zeilen schreiben) ^{(please verify)} ein paar Zeilen
Italian: riga (it) f
Portuguese: carta (pt) f
Swahili: mstari (sw)

connected series of public conveyances, and hence, an established arrangement for forwarding merchandise, etc.

Afrikaans: verbinding
Dutch: verbinding (nl) f
Finnish: linja (fi)
Hebrew: קַו (he) m (kav)
Italian: linea (it) f
Spanish: línea (es) f
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Swedish: distributionsled

fortifications: trench or rampart

Afrikaans: loopgraaf
Dutch: loopgraaf (nl) m or f
Finnish: linja (fi)
Greek: γραμμή (el) f (grammí)
Hungarian: vonal (hu)
Russian: ли́ния (ru) f (línija)
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Ukrainian: лі́нія зі́ткнення f (línija zítknennja)

exterior limit of a figure, plat, or territory; boundary; contour; outline

Afrikaans: kontoer, grens (af)
Bashkir: һыҙыҡ (hıźıq)
Bulgarian: конту́р (bg) m (kontúr), очерта́ние (bg) n (očertánie)
Dutch: contour (nl) m, grens (nl) m or f
Farefare: beene
Finnish: raja (fi)
Irish: líne f
Italian: confine (it) m, contorno (it) m
Macedonian: гра́ница (mk) f (gránica)
Portuguese: contorno (pt) m
Russian: грани́ца (ru) f (graníca), черта́ (ru) f (čertá)
Scottish Gaelic: loidhne f
Swahili: mstari (sw)

bible: that which was measured by a line, as a field or any piece of land set apart

Italian: partizione (it) f
Swahili: mstari (sw)

threadlike crease marking the face or the hand; hence, characteristic mark — see also wrinkle

Afrikaans: lyn
Bulgarian: ли́ния (bg) f (línija)
Dutch: lijn (nl) f, rimpel (nl) m
Finnish: viiva (fi) (in hand), uurre (fi) (on face)
French: ride (fr) f
German: Falte (de) f
Hebrew: קַו (he) m (kav)
Italian: linea (it) f, ruga (it) f
Macedonian: црта f (crta), ли́нија f (línija)
Portuguese: linha (pt) f
Russian: морщи́на (ru) f (morščína), ли́ния (ru) f (línija)
Spanish: línea (es) f
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Swedish: linje (sv) c
Ukrainian: змо́ршка f (zmórška)

lineament; feature; figure

Afrikaans: lyn, kenmerk (af)
Bulgarian: черта́ (bg) f (čertá)
Dutch: lijn (nl) f, kenmerk (nl) n
Finnish: piirre (fi)
Italian: lineamento (it) m
Russian: черта́ (ru) f (čertá)
Spanish: lineamento m, lineamiento m
Swahili: mstari (sw)

straight sequence of people, queue

Afrikaans: lyn, ry
Arabic: صَفّ (ar) m (ṣaff)
Egyptian Arabic: صَفّ m (ṣaff)
Armenian: please add this translation if you can
Azerbaijani: cərgə (az)
Basque: ilara
Belarusian: чарга́ f (čarhá)
Bulgarian: опа́шка f (opáška)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 排隊 / 排队 (zh) (páiduì)
Dutch: rij (nl) f, file (nl) f, lijn (nl) f
Egyptian:

(jtrt f)
Esperanto: vico (eo)
Ewe: fli n
Farefare: foole
Finnish: jono (fi)
French: file (fr) f, queue (fr) f
Friulian: code
Galician: fila (gl) f
Georgian: please add this translation if you can
German: Schlange (de) f, Reihe (de) f
Greek: ουρά (el) f (ourá)
Ancient: στίχος m (stíkhos)
Hebrew: תּוֹר (he) m (tor), שׁוּרָה (he) f (shurá)
Hindi: पंक्ति (hi) f (paṅkti)
Hungarian: sor (hu)
Irish: líne f
Italian: coda (it) f, fila (it) f, linea (it) f
Japanese: 列 (ja) (れつ, retsu)
Khmer: កន្ទុយ (km) (kɑntuy)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: dor (ku) f, rêz (ku) f, xet (ku) m or f
Luhya: elaini
Macedonian: ред m (red)
Maori: rārangi
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: ээлж дараалал (eelž daraalal)
Plautdietsch: Rieej f
Polish: kolejka (pl) f, szereg (pl) m, rząd (pl) m
Portuguese: fila (pt) f, linha (pt) f, fileira (pt) f
Romanian: coadă (ro)
Russian: о́чередь (ru) f (óčeredʹ) (queue), шере́нга (ru) f (šerénga) (file)
Scottish Gaelic: loidhne f
Serbo-Croatian:
Roman: red (sh) m
Spanish: fila (es) f, hilera (es) f, cola (es) f
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Swedish: kö (sv) c, led (sv)
Telugu: వరస (te) (varasa)
Thai: please add this translation if you can
Turkish: kuyruk (tr), sıra (tr)
Ukrainian: черга́ (uk) f (čerhá)
Urdu: قِطَارْ (ur) f (qitār)
Vietnamese: hàng (vi)
Yiddish: שורה (shure)

military: regular infantry of an army

Finnish: jalkaväki (fi)
Greek: πεζικό (el) n (pezikó)
Italian: fanteria d'assalto, reggimento (it) m
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: ریز (rîz)
Russian: лине́йная пехо́та f (linéjnaja pexóta) (historical; only for infantry using linear tactics)
Swahili: mstari (sw)

series or succession of ancestors or descendants of a given person

Afrikaans: lyn
Dutch: lijn (nl) f
Finnish: linja (fi), sukulinja (fi)
French: lignée (fr) f
Galician: liña (gl) f
Greek: καταγωγή (el) f (katagogí)
Italian: stirpe (it) f, discendenza (it) f, linea di parentela, lignaggio (it)
Macedonian: ли́нија f (línija)
Maori: takiaho
Portuguese: linhagem (pt) f
Russian: ли́ния (ru) f (línija), насле́дственная ли́ния f (naslédstvennaja línija)
Spanish: línea (es) f
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Swedish: linje (sv) c
Ukrainian: роди́нна лі́нія f (rodýnna línija)

single horizontal row of text on a screen, printed paper, etc.

Afrikaans: lyn
Arabic: سَطْر (ar) m (saṭr), خَطّ (ar) m (ḵaṭṭ)
Armenian: տող (hy) (toġ)
Azerbaijani: sətir (az), xətt (az), misra (az)
Belarusian: радо́к m (radók)
Bulgarian: ред (bg) m (red)
Chinese:
Cantonese: 行 (yue) (hong⁴)

Mandarin: 行 (zh) (háng)
Czech: řádek (cs) m
Dutch: regel (nl) m, lijn (nl) f
Esperanto: linio (eo)
Ewe: fli n
Finnish: rivi (fi)
French: ligne (fr) f
Galician: liña (gl) f
Georgian: სტრიქონი (sṭrikoni)
German: Zeile (de) f
Greek: γραμμή (el) f (grammí)
Ancient: στίχος m (stíkhos)
Hebrew: שׁוּרָה (he) f (shurá)
Hungarian: sor (hu)
Irish: líne f, (of type) clólíne f
Italian: riga (it) f
Japanese: 行 (ja) (ぎょう, gyō)
Kazakh: жол (kk) (jol)
Korean: 행(行) (ko) (haeng)
Macedonian: ред m (red)
Pannonian Rusyn: шорик m (šorik)
Persian: سَطر (fa) (satr), خَطّ (fa) (xatt)
Polish: wiersz (pl) m, wers (pl) m
Portuguese: linha (pt) f
Russian: строка́ (ru) f (stroká), стро́чка (ru) f (stróčka)
Scottish Gaelic: loidhne f
Slovak: riadok m
Spanish: renglón (es) m, línea (es) f, verso (es) m (in poetry)
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Swedish: rad (sv) c
Tajik: сатр (satr), хат (tg) (xat)
Telugu: వరస (te) (varasa)
Turkish: satır (tr)
Udi: тӏогъ (ṭoɣ)
Ukrainian: рядо́к (uk) m (rjadók), стрі́чка f (stríčka)
Uzbek: satr (uz), yoʻl (uz)
Vietnamese: dòng (vi), hàng (vi)
Welsh: lein f
Yiddish: שורה (shure)

poetic: verse

Afrikaans: vers
Bulgarian: стих m (stih)
Dutch: vers (nl) n, regel (nl) m, stanza (nl) f
Finnish: rivi (fi), säe (fi)
German: Zeile (de) f
Greek: στίχος (el) m (stíchos)
Ancient: στίχος m (stíkhos)
Hungarian: sor (hu)
Italian: verso (it) m
Macedonian: стро́фа f (strófa)
Middle English: vers
Old Norse: vísuorð n
Polish: wers (pl) m
Russian: строфа́ (ru) f (strofá)
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Tamil: பாடல் அடி, கவிதை வரி (pāṭal aṭi, kavitai vari)
Turkish: dize (tr), mısra (tr)
Ukrainian: купле́т m (kuplét)

sentence of dialogue, especially in a script or screenplay

Afrikaans: lyn
Bulgarian: ре́плика (bg) f (réplika)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 臺詞 / 台詞 / 台词 (táicí)
Dutch: lijn (nl) f
Finnish: vuorosana (fi), rivi (fi), repliikki (fi)
French: réplique (fr) f
German: Zeile (de) f
Icelandic: rað
Italian: verso (it) m, riga (it) f, battuta (it) f
Japanese: 台詞 (ja) (せりふ, serifu)
Polish: kwestia (pl) f
Portuguese: fala (pt) f
Romanian: replică (ro) f
Russian: ре́плика (ru) f (réplika), слова́ (ru) n pl (slová)
Spanish: labia (es) f, frase ganadora f
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Swedish: replik (sv) c
Turkish: replik (tr)
Ukrainian: ре́пліка f (réplika)

course of conduct, thought, occupation, or policy

Afrikaans: visie, metode (af), lyn
Bulgarian: ли́ния (bg) f (línija)
Dutch: visie (nl) f, methode (nl) f, lijn (nl) f
Finnish: linjaus (fi)
French: ligne de conduite (fr) f
Italian: linea di condotta, comportamento (it) m
Russian: курс (ru) m (kurs)
Swahili: mstari (sw)

official, stated position of an individual or political faction

Bulgarian: курс (bg) m (kurs)
Dutch: lijn (nl) f
Finnish: linja (fi), mielipide (fi), näkökanta (fi)
German: Linie (de) f, Parteilinie (de) f ("party line")
Greek: γραμμή (el) f (grammí)
Italian: linea (it) f, posizione (it) f
Macedonian: ли́нија f (línija)
Russian: ли́ния (ru) f (línija), курс (ru) m (kurs)
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Ukrainian: лі́нія (uk) f (línija), пози́ція (uk) f (pozýcija)

products or services sold by a business, or the business itself

Afrikaans: produklyn, maatskappy (af)
Dutch: gamma (nl) n, aanbod (nl) n, productlijn f, maatschappij (nl) f
Finnish: linja (fi), tuotelinja
French: ligne (fr) f
German: Linie (de) f
Hebrew: קַו (he) m (qav)
Italian: linea (it) f, ramo (it) m, gamma (it) f
Macedonian: ли́нија f (línija)
Russian: ли́ния (ru) f (línija), лине́йка (ru) f (linéjka)
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Swedish: produktlinje c, sortiment (sv) n
Ukrainian: това́рна лі́нія f (továrna línija)

stock exchange: number of shares taken by a jobber

Swahili: mstari (sw)

measure of length, the main division of an inch or its local equivalent

Finnish: linja (fi)
German: Linie (de) f
Portuguese: linha (pt) f
Russian: ли́ния (ru) f (línija) (one tenth of an inch)
Spanish: línea (es) f
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Ukrainian: лі́нія (uk) f (línija)

baseball: batter’s box

Swahili: mstari (sw)

fencing: position in which the fencers hold their swords

Swahili: mstari (sw)

engineering: proper relative position or adjustment of parts

Dutch: uitlijning (nl) f
Finnish: rihtaus
Italian: fase (it) f
Swahili: mstari (sw)

amount of powdery drug

Catalan: clenxa (ca) f
Finnish: viiva (fi)
German: Line f
Hebrew: שׁוּרָה (he) f (shurá)
Portuguese: carreira (pt) f
Russian: доро́жка (ru) f (doróžka)
Ukrainian: лі́нієчка f (líniječka)

population of cells derived from a single cell and containing the same genetic makeup

Finnish: linja (fi), solulinja
French: lignée (fr)
Italian: linea (it)
Portuguese: linhagem (pt)
Russian: ли́ния (ru) f (línija)
Spanish: línea (es)

perfusion line

French: ligne (fr)
Italian: linea (it)
Portuguese: linha (pt)
Spanish: línea (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Afrikaans: ^{(please verify)} trajek, ^{(please verify)} pad (af), ^{(please verify)} lyn, ^{(please verify)} spoor, ^{(please verify)} spoorlyn, ^{(please verify)} treinspoor, ^{(please verify)} produklyn
Dutch: ^{(please verify)} traject (nl) n, ^{(please verify)} pad (nl) n, ^{(please verify)} spoorlijn (nl) n, ^{(please verify)} spoor (nl) n, ^{(please verify)} serie (nl) f, ^{(please verify)} productlijn f
French: ^{(please verify)} ligne (fr) f
German: ^{(please verify)} Weg (de) m, ^{(please verify)} Pfad (de) m
Ido: ^{(please verify)} lineo (io)
Interlingua: (1,2,4,5,6,7,8) ^{(please verify)} linea, ^{(please verify)} fila, (6) ^{(please verify)} cauda, (10) ^{(please verify)} littera
Italian: ^{(please verify)} linea (it) f, ^{(please verify)} binario (it) m
Scottish Gaelic: ^{(please verify)} loidhne f
Slovak: (1) ^{(please verify)} čiara, (2) ^{(please verify)} priamka, (5,7) ^{(please verify)} linka, (6) ^{(please verify)} rad
Swahili: ^{(please verify)} mstari (sw)
Swedish: ^{(please verify)} bana (sv) c, ^{(please verify)} led (sv) c, ^{(please verify)} rad (sv) c

Verb

line (third-person singular simple present lines, present participle lining, simple past and past participle lined)

(transitive) To place (objects) into a line (usually used with "up"); to form into a line; to align.
to line troops

They lined up the books against the wall.
(transitive) To place persons or things along the side of for security or defense; to strengthen by adding; to fortify.
to line works with soldiers
- 1599, William Shakespeare, Henry V, ii 4:
  Line and new repair our towns of war With men of courage and with means defendant.
(transitive) To form a line along.
(transitive) To mark with a line or lines; to cover with lines.
to line a copy book
(rail transport) To align (one or more switches) to direct a train onto a particular track.
The dispatcher lined the switches at Pickle interlocking for the freight turnout to clear the train into the passing track before the express arrived.
(transitive, obsolete) To represent by lines; to delineate; to portray.
- 1598, William Shakespeare, As You Like It, iii 2:
  All the pictures fairest lined Are but black to Rosalind.
(transitive, dated, now more often line out) To read or repeat line by line.
to line out a hymn
(intransitive, baseball) To hit a line drive; to hit a line drive which is caught for an out. Compare fly and ground.
Jones lined to left in his last at-bat.
(transitive) To track (wild bees) to their nest by following their line of flight.
(transitive) To measure.

Quotations

1897, Daniel Webster Davis, “De Linin’ ub de Hymns”, quoted in Jerma A. Jackson, “Exuberance or Restraint: Music and Religion after Reconstruction”, in Singing in My Soul: Black Gospel Music in a Secular Age, Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 2004, ISBN 978-0-8078-2860-1, page 15:
De young folks say ’tain’t stylish to lin’ ’um no mo’; / Dat deys got edikashun, an’ dey wants us all to know / Dey like to hab dar singin’-books a-holin’ fore dar eyes, / An’ sing de hymns right straight along “to manshuns in de skies”.
1899, Juliana Horatia Gatty Ewing, We and the world: a book for boys, page 19:
[…] the crowd that lined the road to watch us as we wound slowly on.
1909, Road Notes : Cuba, United States War Department, Second Section, General Staff, No. 16, page 359:
The mountains which have lined the road on the left here cross it and the road makes a very sharp ascent, going over them.
1960 July 11, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa., New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC:
‘[W]hy do you all sing hymns that way?’ / ‘Linin’?’ she asked. / ‘Is that what it is?’ / ‘Yeah, it’s called linin’. They’ve done it that way as long as I can remember.’ / Jem said it looked like they could save the collection money for a year and get some hymn-books. / Calpurnia laughed. ‘Wouldn’t do any good,’ she said. ‘They can’t read.’
1999, Janet Duitsman Cornelius, “‘Cords of Love’: Religious Cultures Intertwined, yet Separate”, in Slave Missions and the Black Church in the Antebellum South, Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press, →ISBN, page 10:
By the 1840s a typical hush-harbor meeting of African Americans had become “an amalgam of African initiation practices and camp meeting Christianity,” which included “bits of Christian doctrine and ritual” with a “focus on African initiation and ritual events.” […] A lined hymn or a “sperchul” provided the opening music. In “linin’,” also called “deaconin’,” an elder would sing two lines of a hymnbook song, perhaps one of Watts’s hymns or an older one, which would be repeated by the group of worshipers in “wailing cadences.”
2009, Jon Fasman, The Unpossessed City:
Knee-high garden lamps lined the path; Jim was careful to stay in their pools. Assuming he was being watched, the last thing he wanted to do was give them any reason to chase after him in the dark.

Derived terms

Translations

to place (objects) into a line

Bulgarian: строявам (strojavam)
Dutch: opstellen (nl), uitlijnen (nl)
Estonian: reastama, järjestama, ritta seadma
Finnish: asettaa jonoon
Hungarian: sorba állít (hu), sorba rendez
Italian: allineare (it)
Japanese: 並べる (ja) (naraberu)
Macedonian: постро́јува (postrójuva), подре́дува (podréduva)
Portuguese: enfileirar (pt)
Russian: выстра́ивать (ru) impf (vystráivatʹ), вы́строить (ru) pf (výstroitʹ)
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Swedish: rada upp (sv)
Turkish: sıralamak (tr)

to place persons or things along the side of for security or defense

Bulgarian: подреждам (bg) (podreždam)
Dutch: versterken (nl)
Finnish: asettaa varrelle
Macedonian: постро́јува (postrójuva)
Russian: выстра́ивать (ru) impf (vystráivatʹ), вы́строить (ru) pf (výstroitʹ)
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Swedish: rada upp (sv)

to mark with a line

Bulgarian: очертавам (bg) (očertavam)
Dutch: tekenen (nl), van lijnen (nl) voorzien (nl)
Finnish: linjata (fi)
Macedonian: повле́кува (povlékuva)
Portuguese: traçar (pt)
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Swedish: linjera (sv)

obsolete: to represent by lines; delineate; portray

Dutch: tekenen (nl)
Macedonian: исцртува (iscrtuva)
Swahili: mstari (sw)

to read or repeat line by line

Dutch: opzeggen (nl)
Finnish: lukea rivi riviltä
Swahili: mstari (sw)

baseball: to hit a line drive

French: ligne (fr) f
Swahili: mstari (sw)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

German: (1) ^{(please verify)} auslegen (de), (2) ^{(please verify)} aufreihen (de)
Interlingua: (1) ^{(please verify)} foderar, (2) ^{(please verify)} alinear
Swedish: ^{(please verify)} fodra (sv)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Korean 라인 (rain, “members with a shared characteristic”), itself from English line. Likely generalized via hyung line, maknae line, etc.

Noun

line (plural lines)

(South Korean idol fandom) A group of people born in a certain year (liners).
maknae line; hyung line; 97 line

Translations

group of people born in a certain year

Japanese: ライン (ja) (rain)
Korean: 라인 (ko) (rain)

Etymology 3

From Old English līn (“flax, linen, cloth”). For more information, see the entry linen.

Alternative forms

lin

Noun

line (uncountable)

(obsolete) Flax; linen, particularly the longer fiber of flax.

Quotations

1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, Book V, Canto VII, VI:
And clothed all in Garments made of line.
a. 1818, J. C. Atkinson (ed.), North Riding Record Society (publisher), Quarter sessions records VIII p. 52 (compilation of historical records published in 1890, as quoted in the English Dialect Dictionary in 1902):
To spin 2 lb. of line.
1837, S. Hick, Everett, section 195:
Which proved fatal to the line or flax crops.
1858, Journal of the Statistical Society of London, page 409:
1641.—14 yards of femble cloth, 12s. ; 8 yards of linen, 6s. 8d. ; 20 yards of harden, 10s. ; 5 linen sheets, 1l. ; 7 linen pillow bears, 8s. ; 2 femble sheets and a line hard sheet, 10s. ; 3 linen towels, 4s. ; 6 lin curtains and a vallance, 12s. ; […]
1869, Borrowdale, Dixon, section 2:
T'burring o' t'woo' an' line wheels,

Translations

obsolete: flax, linen — see also flax,‎ linen

Dutch: lijn (nl) n (obsolete)
Finnish: liina (fi) (obsolete)
Swahili: mstari (sw)

Verb

line (third-person singular simple present lines, present participle lining, simple past and past participle lined)

(transitive) To cover the inner surface of (something), originally especially with linen.
to line a cloak with silk or fur

to line a box with paper or tin

The bird lines its nest with soft grass.

Paintings lined the walls of the cavernous dining room.
- 1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros‎, London: Jonathan Cape, page 19:
  In the midst stalked the King, his great limbs muffled, like Goldry’s, in a cloak: and it was of black silk lined with black bearskin, and ornamented with crabs worked in diamonds.
(transitive) To fill or supply (something), as a purse with money.
to line the shelves
- 1602, Richard Carew, edited by Thomas Tonkin, Carew's Survey of Cornwall‎, published 1811, page 34:
  because the charge amounteth mostly very high for any one man's purse, except lined beyond ordinary, to reach unto

Quotations

1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 6, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
Even in an era when individuality in dress is a cult, his clothes were noticeable. He was wearing a hard hat of the low round kind favoured by hunting men, and with it a black duffle-coat lined with white.

To reinforce (the back of a book) with glue and glued scrap material such as fabric or paper.

1891, English mechanics and the world of science, volume 52, page 306:
[…] such books are always close back—ie, the leather cover is always glued or pasted to the bare back of the book. After books have been lined the bands are put on if the style of binding admits of this operation.
1895, The British Printer, volume VIII, page 94:
Then again line the back, again bringing the paper a little further in than the second lining, and repeat the operation according to what you think the weight and size of the book demands in extra strength, […]

Derived terms

(terms derived from the verb "line"):

Translations

cover the inside surface of (something)

Bulgarian: облицовам (oblicovam), подплатявам (podplatjavam)
Catalan: folrar (ca)
Dutch: voeren (nl), bedekken (nl), bekleden (nl), bekleden (nl) (of a baking tin for example)
Esperanto: malekskovri
Finnish: vuorata (fi)
French: fourrer (fr), doubler (fr)
Galician: forrar (gl)
German: füttern (de), ausfüttern, auskleiden (de)
Hungarian: bélel (hu)
Italian: foderare (it)
Macedonian: поставува (postavuva), обложува (obložuva)
Occitan: doblar (oc), forrar (oc)
Ottoman Turkish: آستارلامق (astarlamak)
Polish: wypełniać (pl), wyściełać (pl)
Portuguese: forrar (pt)
Russian: выстила́ть (ru) impf (vystilátʹ), вы́стелить (ru) pf (výstelitʹ)
Spanish: forrar (es)
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Swedish: fodra (sv), täcka (sv)
Turkish: astarlamak (tr)

to fill or supply, as a purse with money

Dutch: vullen (nl)
Finnish: täyttää (fi)
Swahili: mstari (sw)

Etymology 4

Borrowed from Middle French ligner.

Verb

line (third-person singular simple present lines, present participle lining, simple past and past participle lined)

(transitive, now rare, of a dog) To copulate with, to impregnate.

Quotations

1825, A Lawson, The Modern Farrier:
A bitch lined by a mangy dog is very liable to produce mangy puppies, and the progeny of a mangy bitch is certain to become affected some time or other.
1855, William Youatt, The Dog:
Pliny states that the inhabitants of India take pleasure in having their dog bitches lined by the wild tigers, and to facilitate this union, they are in the habit of tieing them when in heat out in the woods, so that the male tigers may visit them.
1868 September, The Country Gentleman's Magazine, page 292:
Bedlamite was a black dog, and although it may be safely asserted that he lined upwards of 100 bitches of all colours, red, white, and blue, all his produce were black.

Translations

of a dog: impregnate

Dutch: (laten (nl)) dekken (nl)
Finnish: astua (fi)
French: croiser (fr), accoupler (fr)
Swahili: mstari (sw)
Welsh: cyplu â (cy)

Gallery

Six lines (drawn paths).
A diagram showing the locations of the five major lines of latitude on an equirectangular projection of the Earth.
Four eighth notes beamed together on a staff, the series of horizontal lines in music.
In graph theory, lines or edges connect the nodes.
Stretford End of Old Trafford in Manchester (1992). In soccer, the goal line is the boundary of the smaller rectangle that touches the goal as seen in the picture.
Four lines of text.
Multiple telephone poles and lines.
Multiple train lines.
A letter.
A product line of similar video game devices by Nintendo.
A man holding a rope.
A woman using a fire hose.
A family tree with the line/lineage of descendants of Queen Victoria.
Painting of Prussian Infantry attacking in lines during the Battle of Hohenfriedberg.
A line of people.
A man drinking tea in Bangladesh on a winter morning. Lines (wrinkles) can be seen on his face.
Assuming the yellow taxi is moving backwards, it is in the process of lining up with other taxis.

References

“line”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

LEIN, Neil, Niel, Nile, lien

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Etymology

Borrowed from English line.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈlajn/
Rhymes: -ajn

Noun

line f (invariable)

line management
editing (of a TV programme/program)

Related terms

Anagrams

lenì

Verb

line

second-person singular present active imperative of linō

References

line in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

Alternative forms

lyne, lin, lyene
ligne (influenced by Old French ligne)

Etymology 1

From Old English līne, from Proto-Germanic *līnǭ. Some forms and meanings are from Old French ligne.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /liːn(ə)/

Noun

line (plural lines)

rope, cord
line, rule, ruler, measure
(figurative) rule, direction, command, edict
line, straight mark; also a fictitious line
(written) line, verse

Descendants

English: line

References

“līne, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-03-23.

Etymology 2

From Old English līn.

Noun

line (uncountable)

Alternative form of lyne

References

“lin,, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 29 April 2018.

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Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /²liːnə/

Etymology 1

From Latin linea.

Alternative forms

linje

Noun

line f (definite singular lina, indefinite plural liner, definite plural linene)

a line (a continuous mark through two or more points; a succession of ancestors or descendants; the stated position of an individual or group)

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Old Norse lína.

Noun

line f (definite singular lina, indefinite plural liner, definite plural linene)

a line (a strong rope, cord, string, wire)

References

“line” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *līnǭ (“line, rope, flaxen cord, thread”), from Proto-Germanic *līną (“flax, linen”), from Proto-Indo-European *līno- (“flax”). Akin to Old High German līna (“line”) (German Leine (“rope”)), Middle Dutch līne (“rope, cord”) (Dutch lijn (“rope”)), Old Norse līna (“cord, rope”) (Danish line (“rope, cord”)), Old English līn (“flax, linen, cloth”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈliː.ne/

Noun

līne f

line
- late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Saint Augustine's Soliloquies
  Wāst þū nū þæt þū leornodest on eorþcræfte be ānre līnan āwritenre andlang middes ānes þōðres?
  Do you remember what you learned in geometry about a line drawn along the middle of a ball?
rope, cable
row, series
direction, rule

Declension

Weak:

More information singular, plural ...

	singular	plural
nominative	līne	līnan
accusative	līnan	līnan
genitive	līnan	līnena
dative	līnan	līnum

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Related terms

līn
līnen, linnen

Descendants

Middle English: lyne, lyn, line, lin, lynye, lyny
- English: line, linseed (in compound with seed)
- Yola: leen

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Etymology

From Proto-Nguni *niná.

Pronoun

liné

you, you all; second-person plural absolute pronoun.

Noun

line m (plural lines)

(rugby) lineout

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

Quotations

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

Translations

Verb

Quotations

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Noun

Translations

Etymology 3

Alternative forms

Noun

Quotations

Translations

Verb

Quotations

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 4

Verb

Quotations

Translations

Gallery

References

Anagrams

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Related terms

Anagrams

Verb

References

Alternative forms

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Noun

Descendants

References

Etymology 2

Noun

References

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Noun

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Noun

References

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Related terms

Descendants

Etymology

Pronoun

Noun

English

Italian

Latin

Middle English

Norwegian Nynorsk

Old English

Phuthi

Spanish