• enPR: līn, IPA: /laɪn/
• (Australia) IPA: /lɑɪn/, [lɑe̯n]

From Middle English line, lyne, from Old English līne, from Proto-West Germanic *līnā, from Proto-Germanic *līnǭ, from Proto-Germanic *līną, from Proto-Indo-European *līno-.

Influenced in Middle English - by Middle French ligne, from Latin linea.

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

line (plural lines)

1. 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.

      Synonyms: straight line

   2. (geometry, informal) A line segment; a continuous finite segment of such a figure.

      Synonyms: 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.
   9. (automotive) A particular path taken by a vehicle when driving a bend or corner in the road.
2. A rope, cord, string, or thread, of any thickness.
3. A hose or pipe, of any size.

   a brake line

   the main water line to the house

4. Direction, path.

   the line of sight

   the line of vision

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. A letter, a written form of communication.

   Synonyms: epistle, letter, note

   Drop me a line.

9. 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

10. (especially, military) A trench or rampart, or the non-physical demarcation of the extent of the territory occupied by specified forces.
11. The exterior limit of a figure or territory: a boundary, contour, or outline; a demarcation.
12. A long tape or ribbon marked with units for measuring; a tape measure.
13. (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.

14. 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.

15. A threadlike crease or wrinkle marking the face, hand, or body; hence, a characteristic mark.
16. Lineament; feature; figure (of one's body).
17. 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: lineup, queue

    get in line

    The line forms on the right.

    There is a line of houses.

    1. (military, nautical) Ellipsis of line of battle
18. (military) The regular infantry of an army, as distinguished from militia, guards, volunteer corps, cavalry, artillery etc.
19. (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.

20. A series or succession of ancestors or descendants of a given person; a family or race; compare lineage.
21. 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.

       Synonyms: row

       The answer to the comprehension question can be found in the third line of the accompanying text.

    2. A verse (in poetry).
    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.

    4. A lie or exaggeration, especially one told to gain another's approval or prevent losing it.

       Don't feed me a line!

22. 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.

23. 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.

24. (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.

25. 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.

26. (stock exchange) A number of shares taken by a jobber.
27. 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:
    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.
    3. One sixteenth of an inch.
    4. One fortieth of an inch.
28. (advertising) Short for agate line.
29. (historical) A maxwell, a unit of magnetic flux.
30. (baseball, slang, 1800s, with "the") The batter's box.
31. (fencing) The position in which the fencers hold their swords.

    Synonyms: line of engagement

32. (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

33. A small path-shaped portion or serving of a powdery illegal drug, especially cocaine.
34. (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.

35. (genetics) A population of cells derived from a single cell and containing the same genetic makeup.
36. (perfusion line) a set composed of a spike, a drip chamber, a clamp, a Y-injection site, a three-way stopcock and a catheter.
37. (ice hockey) A group of forwards that play together.
38. (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.
39. (medicine, colloquial) A vascular catheter.

    patient had a line inserted

    line sepsis

• (geometry) curve, point, segment
• lineage
• lineal
• linear

• German: Leine
• Italian: corda, fune, cima
• Portuguese: fio, linha
• Russian: верёвка
• Spanish: hilo, línea

• French: ligne, trait
• German: Linie
• Italian: linea, riga
• Portuguese: linha, risco, traço
• Russian: ли́ния
• Spanish: línea, rasgo, trazo

• French: droite
• German: Gerade
• Italian: linea
• Portuguese: reta
• Russian: пряма́я
• Spanish: recta

• German: Strecke
• Italian: segmento
• Portuguese: segmento
• Russian: отре́зок
• Spanish: segmento

• German: Kante
• Italian: linea, riga, bordo
• Portuguese: aresta, arco
• Russian: ребро́
• Spanish: línea

• German: Breitenkreis, Längenkreis
• Italian: meridiana, meridiano
• Portuguese: linha
• Russian: ли́ния

• German: Linie, Taktstrich
• Italian: linea
• Portuguese: linha
• Russian: лине́йка
• Spanish: línea

• Italian: corda, gomena, sagola
• Portuguese: fita
• Russian: сантиме́тр
• Spanish: cinta métrica

• Italian: linea

• Portuguese: caminho
• Russian: направле́ние

• French: ligne
• German: Leitung
• Italian: linea
• Portuguese: linha
• Russian: линия связь
• Spanish: línea

• German: Zeile, (to drop somebody a line=jemandem ein paar Zeilen schreiben) ein paar Zeilen
• Italian: riga
• Portuguese: carta

• Italian: linea
• Spanish: línea

• Russian: ли́ния

• Italian: confine, contorno
• Portuguese: contorno
• Russian: грани́ца

• Italian: partizione

• French: ride
• German: Falte
• Italian: linea, ruga
• Portuguese: linha
• Russian: морщи́на
• Spanish: línea

• Italian: lineamento
• Russian: черта́

• French: file, queue
• German: Schlange, Reihe
• Italian: coda, fila, linea
• Portuguese: fila, linha, fileira
• Russian: о́чередь
• Spanish: fila, hilera, cola

• Italian: fanteria d'assalto, reggimento
• Russian: лине́йная пехо́та

• French: lignée
• Italian: stirpe, discendenza, linea di parentela, lignaggio
• Portuguese: linhagem
• Russian: ли́ния
• Spanish: línea

• French: ligne
• German: Zeile
• Italian: riga
• Portuguese: linha
• Russian: строка́
• Spanish: renglón, línea, verso (in poetry)

• German: Zeile
• Italian: verso
• Russian: строфа́

• French: réplique
• German: Zeile
• Italian: verso, riga, battuta
• Portuguese: fala
• Russian: ре́плика

• French: ligne de conduite
• Italian: linea di condotta, comportamento
• Russian: курс

• German: Linie, Parteilinie ("party line")
• Italian: linea, posizione
• Russian: ли́ния

• French: ligne
• German: Linie
• Italian: linea, ramo, gamma
• Russian: ли́ния

• German: Linie
• Portuguese: linha
• Russian: ли́ния
• Spanish: línea

• Italian: fase

• German: Line
• Portuguese: carreira
• Russian: доро́жка

• French: lignée
• Italian: linea
• Portuguese: linhagem
• Russian: ли́ния
• Spanish: línea

• French: ligne
• Italian: linea
• Portuguese: linha
• Spanish: línea

line (lines, present participle lining; simple past and past participle lined)

1. (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.

2. (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

3. (transitive) To form a line along.
4. (transitive) To mark with a line or lines; to cover with lines.

   to line a copy book

5. (railroading) 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.

6. (transitive, obsolete) To represent by lines; to delineate; to portray.
7. (transitive, dated, now more often line out) To read or repeat line by line.

   to line out a hymn

8. (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.

9. (transitive) To track (wild bees) to their nest by following their line of flight.
10. (transitive) To measure.

• Italian: allineare
• Portuguese: enfileirar
• Russian: выстра́ивать

• Russian: выстра́ивать

• Portuguese: traçar

• French: ligne

line (plural lines)

1. (South Korean idol fandom) A group of people born in a certain year (liners).

   maknae line; hyung line; 97 line

From Old English līn.

line (uncountable)

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

line (lines, present participle lining; simple past and past participle lined)

1. (transitive) To cover the inner surface of (something), originally especially with linen.

   The bird lines its nest with soft grass.

   to line a cloak with silk or fur

   to line a box with paper or tin

   paintings lined the walls of the cavernous dining room

2. (transitive) To fill or supply (something), as a purse with money.

   to line the shelves

• French: fourrer, doubler
• German: füttern, ausfüttern, auskleiden
• Italian: foderare
• Portuguese: forrar
• Russian: выстила́ть
• Spanish: forrar

Borrowed from Middle French ligner.

line (lines, present participle lining; simple past and past participle lined)

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

• French: croiser, accoupler

From the Middle English - surname, derived from the Anglo-Norman - suffix -line found in names such as Adeline and Madeline.

1. Surname.

line (plural lines)

1. (genetics) Acronym of w:long interspersed nuclear element a type of retrotransposon in genomics.
2. A close quarters combat system, see w:LINE (combat system) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia