Definitions
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noun (rfex)
  1. A rope, cord, string, or thread; a slender, strong cord, or a cord of any thickness; a hawser.
(rfdate) Who so layeth lines for to latch fowls. " Piers Plowman
fishing , anchor , clothes, tow
  1. A path through two or more points (see also segment); a continuous mark.
    • 1816: w:Percy Shelley, Percy Shelley, http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/4654 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 of lightning.
      1. A more or less threadlike mark of a pen, pencil, or graver; any long mark.
      a chalk
      1. (geometry) An infinitely extending one-dimensional figure that has no curvature; one that has length but not breadth or thickness.
      2. (context, geometry, informal) A line segment; a continuous finite segment of such a figure.
      3. A row of letters, text, words, etc, written or printed, as on paper or a CRT screen; especially a row of words extending across a page or column.
    • 1609: w:Shakespeare, Shakespeare, s:The Sonnets/71, Sonnet 71
    • : Nay if you read this , remember not, / The hand that writ it.
      1. A sentence of dialogue in a script or screenplay, or delivered by an actor or performer.
      (rfdate) It"s a small part, I have 12 lines in the movie. " Geneveve Bujold in Earthquake
      1. The official, stated position (or set of positions) of an individual or group, particularly a political or religious faction.
      Remember, your answers must match the party .
      (rfdate) Their is gone out through all the earth. " Ps. xix. 4
      1. A letter, a written form of communication.
      Drop me a .
      1. 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 was dead.
      a dedicated
      a shared
      1. A more-or-less straight sequence of people, objects, etc., often waiting to be processed or deal with, dealt with, a queue; a continued series or rank.
      The forms on the right.
      There is a of houses.
      1. (military) A row of men who are abreast of one another, whether side by side or some distance apart; opposed to column. .]]
    • 1817: w:Percy Shelley, Percy Shelley, s:The Revolt of Islam, The Revolt of Islam
    • : A band of brothers gathering round me, made, / Although unarmed, a steadfast front, ... now the / Of war extended, to our rallying cry / As myriads flocked in love and brotherhood to die.
      (rfdate) Unite thy forces and attack their lines. " Dryden
      1. (military) The regular infantry of an army, as distinguished from militia, guards, volunteer corps, cavalry, artillery, etc.
      2. (context, military) A trench or rampart.
    • 1917, w:John Masefield, John Masefield, http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/20616 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 will be followed by an account of our people's share in the battle.
      1. The products or services sold by a business.
      of business
      product
      1. From the services a business sells, the business itself.
      How many buses does the have?
      The air is in danger of bankruptcy.
      A ship of the .
      1. (context, fencing, "line of engagement") The position in which the fencers hold their swords.
      2. (graphtheory) An edge of a graph.
      3. (cricket) The horizontal path of a ball towards the batsman (see also length).
      4. (context, baseball, slang, 1800s, "the line") The batter"s box.
      5. (obsolete) flax, Flax; linen, particularly the longer fiber of flax.
      (rfdate) Garments made of . " Spenser
      1. The course followed by anything in motion; hence, a road or route.
      The arrow descended in a curved .
      w:Antarctica, The place is remote from lines of travel.
      1. direction, Direction
      the of sight or the of vision
      1. (poetic) A verse, or the words which form a certain number of foot, feet, according to the measure.
      (rfdate) In the preceding Ulysses speaks of Nausicaa. " Broome
      1. Course of conduct, thought, occupation, or policy; method of argument; department of industry, trade, or intellectual activity.
      (rfdate) He is uncommonly powerful in his own , but it is not the of a first-rate man. " Coleridge
      1. The exterior limit of a figure, plat, or territory; a boundary; a contour; an outline; a demarcation.
    • 1674 " w:John Milton, John Milton, s:Paradise Lost, Paradise Lost, book IV
    • : Eden stretchd her Line / From Auran Eastward to the Royal Towrs / Of great Seleucia,
      1. A threadlike crease marking the face or the hand; hence, characteristic mark.
      (rfdate) Though on his brow were graven lines austere. " Byron
      (rfdate) He tipples palmistry, and dines On all her fortune-telling lines. " Cleveland
      1. lineament, Lineament; feature; figure (of one's body).
    • circa, c 1609: W:Shakespeare, Shakespeare, s:The Tragedy of Cymbeline, The Tragedy of Cymbeline
    • : I mean, the lines of my body are as well drawn as his.
      1. A series or succession of ancestors or descendants of a given person; a family or race; compare lineage.
    • 14th century, c: w:Geoffrey Chaucer, Geoffrey Chaucer s:The Canterbury Tales, The Canterbury Tales
    • : Of his lineage am I, and his offspring / By very ,
    • circa, c 1604: w:Shakespeare, Shakespeare, s:Macbeth, Macbeth
    • : They hail'd him father to a of kings.
    • 1651: w:Thomas Hobbes, Thomas Hobbes, s:Leviathan, Leviathan
    • : The rest of the history of the Old Testament derives the succession of the of David to the Captivity, of which was to spring the restorer of the kingdom of God ...
      1. A connected series of public conveyances, and hence, an established arrangement for forwarding merchandise, etc.
      a of stages
      an express
      1. The track and roadbed of a railway; railroad.
      2. (geography) A circle of latitude or of longitude, as represented on a map.
      3. (context, geography, "the line" or "equinoctial line") The equator.
      to cross the
      1. A long tape, or a narrow ribbon of steel, etc., marked with subdivisions, as feet and inches, for measuring; a tapeline.
      2. (context, biblical) That which was measured by a line, as a field or any piece of land set apart; hence, allotted place of abode.
      (rfdate) The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yes. I have a goodly heritage. " Ps. xvi. 6
      1. (engineering) The proper relative position or adjustment of parts, not as to design or proportion, but with reference to smooth working.
      the engine is in or out of
      1. (music) One of the straight horizontal and parallel prolonged strokes on and between which the notes are placed.
      2. (context, stock exchange) A number of shares taken by a jobber.
      3. (context, trade) A series of various qualities and values of the same general class of articles.
      a full of hosiery
      a of merinos
      1. A measure of length equal to one twelfth of an inch.
    • 1883: Alfred Swaine Taylor, Thomas Stevenson, The principles and practice of medical jurisprudence
    • : The cutis measures in thickness from a quarter of a to a and a half (a is one-twelfth of an inch).
      1. (nautical) A rope on a nautical vessel. (Usually a rope is still in its packing; usually, once removed, it is 'line'.)
Translations: 
  • Dutch: productlijn(nl, serie, f}}, {{t, nl)f
  • German: Pfad(de, Weg, m, {{t+, de)m
  • Italian: linea(it)f
  • French: ligne(fr)f
verb (lin, ing)
  1. (transitive) To cover the inside/inner surface of (something).
The bird lines its nest with soft grass.
to a cloak with silk or fur
to a box with paper or tin
  1. (transitive) To fill or supply (something), as a purse with money.
(rfdate) The charge amounteth very high for any one man"s purse, except lined beyond ordinary, to reach unto. " Carew.
  1. (transitive) To place (objects) into a line (usually used with "up"); to form into a line; to align.
to troops (rfex, some more, please)
  1. (transitive) To place persons or things along the side of for security or defense; to strengthen by adding; to fortify.
to works with soldiers
  • 1599 " w:William Shakespeare, William Shakespeare, s:The_Life_of_Henry_the_Fifth, Henry V, ii 4
  • : Line and new repair our towns of war With men of courage and with means defendant.
    1. (transitive) To mark with a line or lines, to cover with lines.
  • to a copy book
    1. (context, transitive, obsolete) To represent by lines; to delineate; to portray.
  • 1598 " w:William Shakespeare, William Shakespeare, s:As You Like It, As You Like It, iii 2
  • : All the pictures fairest lined Are but black to Rosalind.
    1. (context, transitive, obsolete) To impregnate (applied to brute animals). " Creech.
    2. (transitive) To read or repeat line by line.
  • to out a hymn
    1. (context, intransitive, "line up") To form or enter into a line.
    2. (context, intransitive, baseball) To hit a line drive; to hit a line drive which is caught for an out. Compare fly and ground.
    1. Jones lined to left in his last at-bat.
    Translations: 
    • Dutch: zich (t, nl, opstellen)
    • German: sich eingliedern, sich aufreihen
    Etymology: From Middle English, line, from Old English, lÄne ("cable, hawser"), probably from linea ("linen thread, string, line") or linum ("flax, thread, linen, cable") or a conflation of both of those words. The English word was influenced by the ligne ("line"), which derives from the same Latin word, linea.


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