line

A1 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /laɪn/ UK /laɪn/ See IPA manual

Freq #511

Meanings

1

noun
A long, thin mark on a surface.

The doctor drew a line on the chart.
2

noun
A long, thin piece of rope, cord, or wire.

She hung the wet clothes on the washing line.
3

noun
A boundary or distinction between two things.

There is a narrow line between confidence and arrogance.
4

noun
A type or range of products sold by a company.

The company is launching a new line of shoes.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

3 noun · a boundary or distinction... dividing line

4 noun · a type or range of products... product line

Word family

Forms linedlineslining

Derived forms a-lineabove-lineadvicelineairline alinebacklinebalklinebanklinebarlinebaselinebasslinebattle-line

Related forms curve lineage lineal linear point segment

Appears in

Phrases (15)

See all

straight line
a line with no curves or bends

Adjective + noun
draw a line
to make a mark on a surface, or to set a boundary on what is acceptable

Verb + noun
form a line
to arrange people or things in a row

Verb + noun
dotted line
a line made up of a series of dots or short dashes

Adjective + noun
hold the line
to wait on a telephone connection without hanging up

Verb + noun
line a street
be arranged in a row along both sides of a street

Verb + noun

Idioms (9)

See all

drop someone a line
to get in touch by sending a short note, message, or email
fall in line
to obey or accept the rules and expectations set by a group or authority
sign on the dotted line
to commit yourself formally by signing an agreement
along the lines of
similar to; roughly in the style or manner of
down the line
at a later point in time; in the future
hold the line
to maintain a position, decision, or principle despite pressure

Etymology

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.

line Middle English līne Old English *līnā Proto-West Germanic *līnǭ Proto-Germanic *līną Proto-Germanic *līno- Proto-Indo-European ligne Middle French linea Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# line

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /laɪn/
**IPA (UK):** /laɪn/
**Frequency rank:** 511

## Meanings
1. A long, thin mark on a surface.
2. A long, thin piece of rope, cord, or wire.
3. A boundary or distinction between two things.
4. A type or range of products sold by a company.

## Examples
- The doctor drew a line on the chart.
- She hung the wet clothes on the washing line.
- There is a narrow line between confidence and arrogance.
- The company is launching a new line of shoes.

## Derived Forms
- a-line
- above-line
- adviceline
- airline
- aline
- backline
- balkline
- bankline
- barline
- baseline
- bassline
- battle-line

## Related Forms
- curve
- lineage
- lineal
- linear
- point
- segment

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: line
- Root: līne
- Root: *līnā
- Root: *līnǭ
- Root: *līną
- Root: *līno-
- Root: ligne
- Root: linea

## Etymology
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.

## AI Etymology
Line comes 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. In present-day English its meanings include a long, thin mark on a surface, a long, thin piece of rope, cord, or wire, and a boundary or distinction between two things. The historical chain runs through line (Middle English), līne (Old English), *līnā (Proto-West Germanic), *līnǭ (Proto-Germanic), and *līną (Proto-Germanic).

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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