Dictionary

lineal en · ADJ

Pronunciation

/ˈlɪniːəl/ (UK)
(Southern-England) audio
/ˈlɪni.əl/ (General-American)

Etymology

From Old French lineal, from Latin līneālis, from līnea (“a line”) + -ālis (adjective-forming suffix). By surface analysis, line + -al. Doublet of linear.

Meanings

(not-comparable) Pertaining to lines; consisting of lines.
(not-comparable) Relating to aspects of lineage, such as descent, succession, inheritance or consanguinity.
- Oh that your Brows my Laurel had ſuſtain'd, / Well had I been depos'd, if You had Reign'd! / The Father had deſcended for the Son; / For only you are lineal to the Throne. 1693 (first performance), John Dryden, “To My Dear Friend Mr. Congreve, on His Comedy, Call’d, The Double-Dealer”, in The Double-Dealer. A Comedy, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], published 1735, →OCLC, Act I,:
- the prime and ancient right of lineal succession 1689 December (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], chapter 1, in Two Treatises of Government: […], London: […] Awnsham Churchill, […], →OCLC:
(not-comparable, uncommon) In the direction of a line; measured or ascertained by a line.
- lineal magnitude
(not-comparable) Line-drawn; composed of lines.
- lineal designs
(not-comparable, of a typeface) Sans serif.