1. līnĕa — Lewis & Short
līnĕa (līnĭa), ae, f.linum,
I 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.