Linea, lineæ, f. g. A carpenters line: any line generally: a strike: a degree of kindred.Perpendiculo & linea vti.Cic.To vse a plumbe line.Circuncurrens linea. Quint. Extremæ lineæ. Quint. Longinqua linea. Plin. Designare aliquid velut primis lineis. Quint. To draw out a thing grossely.Ducere lineam. Plin. To make a line: to rule a booke.Ducere primas lineas. Quint. To draw a thing grossely.Rectis lineis in cœlestem locum subolent ignea.Cic.Transire lineas.Cic.To passe the boundes prescribed. Linea. Colum. A threede or any long string: a line. Ligato pede longa linea. Colum. Linea. Plin. A fishers line.Lineam mittere.Plaut.To cast his line. Linea margaritarum. Scæuola. A long row of pearles.
Lineus, Adiectium. Plin. Of stare or linnen.Vincula linea.Virg.
Lewis and Short: Latin dictionary
līnĕa (līnĭa), ae, f. [linum], a linen thread, a string, line. I.Lit.: nectere lineas, restes, funes, Varr. R. R. 1, 23, 6: linia longinqua per os religata, Plin. 9, 17, 26, 59: ligato pede longā lineā gallina custoditur, Col. 8, 11, 15: linea margaritarum triginta quinque, Dig. 35, 2, 26; cf.: lineae duae ex margaritis, ib. 34, 2, 40; and ib. 9, 2, 27 fin.: linea dives (of the strings of pearls which were thrown among the people at the public games), Mart. 8, 78, 7 (cf. Suet. Ner. 11).—B. In partic. 1. In a net, the threads which form the meshes: licia difficile cernuntur: atque ut in plagis lineae offensae, praecipitant in sinum (of spiders' webs), Plin. 11, 24, 28, 82.—b.Transf., a net, Plin. 9, 43, 67, 145: si feras lineis et pinna clusas contineas, Sen. Clem. 1, 12, 5.—2.A fishing-line: tremulāve captum lineā trahit piscem, Mart. 3, 58, 27; 10, 30, 18.—Hence, prov.: mittere lineam, to cast a line, to fish for, try to catch a person, Plaut. Most. 5, 1, 22.—3.A plumbline of masons and carpenters: perpendiculo et lineā uti, Cic. Q. Fr. 3, 1, 1; cf.: ad regulam et lineam, Vitr. 7, 3; 5, 3; Pall. 3, 9.—Hence, b. Ad lineam and rectā lineā, in a straight line, vertically, perpendicularly: solida corpora ferri suo deorsum pondere ad lineam, Cic. Fin. 1, 6, 18; Plin. 19, 8, 42, 147; of the layers of stone in a wall: saxa, quae rectis lineis suos ordines servant, Caes. B. G. 7, 23: (ignis) rectis lineis in caelestem locum subvolat, Cic. Tusc. 1, 17, 40.—4.A region, tract: linea tam rectum mundi ferit illa Leonem,
that region lies directly under the lion
, Luc. 10, 306.—5.A bowstring, Ter. Maur. praef. v. 19.—II.Transf., a thread-like stroke or mark made with a pen, pencil, etc., a line: Apelli fuit perpetua consuetudo, numquam tam occupatam diem agendi, ut non, lineam ducendo, exerceret artem, quod ab eo in proverbium venit (namely, the proverb: nulla dies sine linea), Plin. 35, 10, 36, 84: lineam cinere ducere, id. 18, 33, 76, 327: candida per medium folium transcurrens, id. 27, 11, 77, 102: serra in praetenui linea premente harenas (of sawing marble), id. 36, 6, 9, 51: nec congruebant ad horas ejus lineae (of the sundial), id. 7, 60, 60, 214; Pers. 3, 4.—In geometry, a line: linea a nostris dicitur, quam grammh\n Graeci nominant. Eam M. Varro ita definit: Linea est, inquit, longitudo quaedam sine latitudine et altitudine, Gell. 1, 20, 7: locorum extremae lineae, Quint. 1, 10, 39: lineae, quae emittuntur ex centro, Plin. 2, 65, 65, 165; 2, 16, 13, 64: linea circumcurrens,
a circular line, circle
, Quint. 1, 10, 41.—2. In partic. (a).A boundary-line which consisted of a narrow path between fields, Hyg. de Limit. p. 151; 152 Goes. —(b). In gen., a way, path: dedit sequendam calle recto lineam, Prud. Cath. 7, 48.— b.A barrier or line in the theatre, by which the seats were separated from each other: quid frustra refugis? cogit nos linea jungi, Ov. Am. 3, 2, 19; id. A. A. 1, 139: lineas poscere, Quint. 11, 3, 133.—c.A feature, lineament: adulti venustissimis lineis, Arn. 5, 179 al.—B.Trop.1.A line of descent or kindred, lineage (post-class.): ste/mmata cognationum directo limite in duas lineas separantur, quarum altera est superior, altera inferior, Dig. 38, 10, 9: clara gentis Linea, Stat. S. 3, 3, 43: primo gradu superioris linea continentur pater, mater, Paul. Sent. 4, 11, 1.—2.An outline, sketch, design (a fig. borrowed from painting): quidam materias latius dicendo prosequebantur ... alii, cum primas modo lineas duxissent, Quint. 2, 6, 2; cf. id. 4, 2, 120: ea quae in Platonis oratione demiramur, non aemulari quidem, sed lineas umbrasque facere ausi sumus, Gell. 17, 20, 8.—3.A boundary-line, bound, limit, end, goal: cum poëtae transilire lineas impune possint, Varr. L. L. 9, 5 Müll.; Cassiod. Var. 3, 50: si quidem est peccare tamquam transire lineas,
to go beyond the mark, pass the prescribed limits
, Cic. Par. 3, 1, 20: mors ultima linea rerum est, Hor. Ep. 1, 16, 79: admoveri lineas sentio, Sen. Ep. 49.—Hence, prov.: amare extremā lineā, to love at a distance, i. e. to see the beloved object only at a distance, not be able to speak to her, Ter. Eun. 4, 2, 12.