Definition of line. Meaning of line. Synonyms of line
Here you will find one or more explanations in English for the word line. Also in the bottom left of the page several parts of wikipedia pages related to the word line and, of course, line synonyms and on the right images related to the word line.
Line Line Line (l[imac]n), n. [OE. lin. See Linen.]
1. Flax; linen. [Obs.] ``Garments made of line.' --Spenser.
2. The longer and finer fiber of flax.
Line Line Line (l[imac]n), v. t.
1. To mark with a line or lines; to cover with lines; as, to
line a copy book.
He had a healthy color in his cheeks, and his face,
though lined, bore few traces of anxiety. --Dickens.
2. To represent by lines; to delineate; to portray. [R.]
``Pictures fairest lined.' --Shak.
3. To read or repeat line by line; as, to line out a hymn.
This custom of reading or lining, or, as it was
frequently called, ``deaconing' the hymn or psalm
in the churches, was brought about partly from
necessity. --N. D. Gould.
4. To form into a line; to align; as, to line troops.
To line bees, to track wild bees to their nest by following
their line of flight.
To line up (Mach.), to put in alignment; to put in correct
adjustment for smooth running. See 3d Line, 19.
line Loxodromic Lox`o*drom"ic, a. [Gr. ? slanting, oblique + ? a
running, course; cf. F. loxodromique.]
Pertaining to sailing on rhumb lines; as, loxodromic tables.
Loxodromic curve or line (Geom.), a line on the surface
of a sphere, which always makes an equal angle with every
meridian; the rhumb line. It is the line on which a ship
sails when her course is always in the direction of one
and the same point of the compass.
line Shaft Shaft, n. [OE. shaft, schaft, AS. sceaft; akin to D.
schacht, OHG. scaft, G. schaft, Dan. & Sw. skaft handle,
haft, Icel. skapt, and probably to L. scapus, Gr. ????, ????,
a staff. Probably originally, a shaven or smoothed rod. Cf.
Scape, Scepter, Shave.]
1. The slender, smooth stem of an arrow; hence, an arrow.
His sleep, his meat, his drink, is him bereft, That
lean he wax, and dry as is a shaft. --Chaucer.
A shaft hath three principal parts, the stele
[stale], the feathers, and the head. --Ascham.
2. The long handle of a spear or similar weapon; hence, the
weapon itself; (Fig.) anything regarded as a shaft to be
thrown or darted; as, shafts of light.
And the thunder, Winged with red lightning and
impetuous rage, Perhaps hath spent his shafts.
--Milton.
Some kinds of literary pursuits . . . have been
attacked with all the shafts of ridicule. --V. Knox.
3. That which resembles in some degree the stem or handle of
an arrow or a spear; a long, slender part, especially when
cylindrical. Specifically: (a) (Bot.) The trunk, stem, or
stalk of a plant.
(b) (Zo["o]l.) The stem or midrib of a feather. See
Illust. of Feather.
(c) The pole, or tongue, of a vehicle; also, a thill.
(d) The part of a candlestick which supports its branches.
Thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold . . .
his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his
knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same.
--Ex. xxv. 31.
(e) The handle or helve of certain tools, instruments,
etc., as a hammer, a whip, etc.
(f) A pole, especially a Maypole. [Obs.] --Stow.
(g) (Arch.) The body of a column; the cylindrical pillar
between the capital and base (see Illust. of
Column). Also, the part of a chimney above the roof.
Also, the spire of a steeple. [Obs. or R.] --Gwilt.
(h) A column, an obelisk, or other spire-shaped or
columnar monument.
Bid time and nature gently spare The shaft we
raise to thee. --Emerson.
(i) (Weaving) A rod at the end of a heddle.
(j) (Mach.) A solid or hollow cylinder or bar, having one
or more journals on which it rests and revolves, and
intended to carry one or more wheels or other
revolving parts and to transmit power or motion; as,
the shaft of a steam engine. See Illust. of
Countershaft.
4. (Zo["o]l.) A humming bird (Thaumastura cora) having two
of the tail feathers next to the middle ones very long in
the male; -- called also cora humming bird.
5. [Cf. G. schacht.] (Mining) A well-like excavation in the
earth, perpendicular or nearly so, made for reaching and
raising ore, for raising water, etc.
6. A long passage for the admission or outlet of air; an air
shaft.
7. The chamber of a blast furnace.
Line shaft (Mach.), a main shaft of considerable length, in
a shop or factory, usually bearing a number of pulleys by
which machines are driven, commonly by means of
countershafts; -- called also line, or main line.
Shaft alley (Naut.), a passage extending from the engine
room to the stern, and containing the propeller shaft.
Shaft furnace (Metal.), a furnace, in the form of a
chimney, which is charged at the top and tapped at the
bottom.
