Line
/laɪn/noun
A long, narrow mark or row; also a cord, boundary, or sequence.
Did you know?The word ultimately comes from Latin *linum* meaning “flax,” because the first “lines” were literally threads pulled from plants before they became symbols of structure and fate.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*lī-no-
“flax, thread”
Latin
Latin
linum
“flax; flax fiber; thread”
Late Latin
Latin
linea
“a flaxen thread; string; line”
Old French
Old French
ligne
“line; cord; row”
Middle English
English
line
“a line, cord, row, or boundary”
Modern English
English
line
“a long narrow mark, row, boundary, or sequence”