lineal

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: lin=e=al

CIDE DICTIONARY

lineal, a. [L. linealis belonging to a line, fr. linea line: cf. F. linéal. See 3d Line.].

•  Descending in a direct line from an ancestor; hereditary; derived from ancestors; -- opposed to collateral; as, a lineal descent or a lineal descendant.  [1913 Webster]

  "The prime and ancient right of lineal succession."  [1913 Webster]
•  Inheriting by direct descent; having the right by direct descent to succeed (to).  [1913 Webster]

  "For only you are lineal to the throne."  [1913 Webster]
•  Composed of lines; delineated; as, lineal designs.  [1913 Webster]
•  In the direction of a line; of or pertaining to a line; measured on, or ascertained by, a line; linear; as, lineal magnitude.  [1913 Webster]

Lineal measure, the measure of length; -- usually written linear measure.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

lineal, adj.
1 in the direct line of descent or ancestry.
2 linear; of or in lines.

Derivative

lineally adv.

Etymology

ME f. OF f. LL linealis (as LINE(1))

THESAURUS

lineal

after, arrowlike, attendant, cadet, catenary, clannish, consecutive, dead straight, diphyletic, direct, ensuing, ethnic, even, family, flat, following, genealogical, genetic, gentile, gentilic, horizontal, in a line, junior, later, level, linear, national, ordinal, phyletic, phylogenetic, posterior, progressive, puisne, racial, rectilineal, rectilinear, right, ruler-straight, sequent, sequential, serial, seriate, smooth, straight, straight-cut, straight-front, straight-side, streamlined, subsequent, succeeding, successional, successive, totemic, tribal, true, unbending, unbent, unbowed, unbroken, uncurved, undeflected, undeviating, undistorted, uninterrupted, unswerving, unturned, upright, vertical, younger

ROGET THESAURUS

lineal

Length

N length, longitude, span, mileage, distance, line, bar, rule, stripe, streak, spoke, radius, lengthening, prolongation, production, protraction, tension, tensure, extension, line, nail, inch, hand, palm, foot, cubit, yard, ell, fathom, rood, pole, furlong, mile, league, chain, link, arpent, handbreadth, jornada, kos, vara, astronomical unit, AU, light- year, parsec, nanometer, nm, micron, micrometer, millimicron, millimeter, mm, centimeter, cm, meter, kilometer, km, pedometer, perambulator, scale, long, longsome, lengthy, wiredrawn, outstretched, lengthened, sesquipedalian, interminable, no end of, macrocolous, linear, lineal, longitudinal, oblong, as long as my arm, as long as today and tomorrow, unshortened &c (shorten), lengthwise, at length, longitudinally, endlong, along, tandem, in a line, in perspective, from end to end, from stem to stern, from head to foot, from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot, from top to toe, fore and aft.