See Also: lineal(dictionary)
lineal(dictionary)
LINEAL(law)
LINEAL WARRANTY, old English law(law)

lineal (iou)



lineal adjective & noun. LME.
[Old & mod. French lineal from late Latin linealis, from Latin LINEA: see -AL1.]
A. adjective.
Of or pertaining to a line or lines; consisting of lines; (of writing) arranged in regular lines. LME.
W. Roberts This way of writing may be as swift, lineal, and legible, as the operations of daylight. T. Holcroft They were not..ignorant of lineal perspective.
b. Of a measure: relating to a single dimension of space; linear. L17.
R. Raymond The claim is 1,000 feet lineal measurement in length.
a. Of descent, ancestry, etc.: that is in the direct line (opp. collateral). LME.
J. Locke The Prime and Ancient Right of Lineal Succession to any thing. T. Hardy You are the lineal representative of the ancient and knightly family of the d'Urbervilles. S. Beckett Seven male relations, lineal and collateral.
b. Pertaining to or transmitted by the direct line of descent. L15.
c. Of a person: lineally descended (from, to, of). rare. L16.
b. noun.
Genealogy, pedigree. Only in LME.
A person who is related in the direct line. Usu. in pl. rare. M18.
line'ality noun the quality of being lineal; esp. uniformity of direction of a way of writing: E19.