lineal

See also: Lineal and linéal

English

Etymology

From Old French lineal, from Latin līneālis, from līnea (“a line”) +‎ -ālis (adjective-forming suffix). By surface analysis, line +‎ -al. Doublet of linear.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈlɪni.əl/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈlɪniːəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

lineal (not comparable)

1. Pertaining to lines; consisting of lines.
2. (law, history and anthropology) Relating to aspects of lineage, such as descent, succession, inheritance or consanguinity.
   • 1689 December (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], chapter 1, in Two Treatises of Government: […], London: […] Awnsham Churchill, […], →OCLC:

     the prime and ancient right of lineal succession

   • 1693 (first performance), John Dryden, “To My Dear Friend Mr. Congreve, on His Comedy, Call’d, The Double-Dealer”, in The Double-Dealer. A Comedy, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], published 1735, →OCLC, Act I,:

     Oh that your Brows my Laurel had ſuſtain'd, / Well had I been depos'd, if You had Reign'd! / The Father had deſcended for the Son; / For only you are lineal to the Throne.

3. (uncommon) In the direction of a line; measured or ascertained by a line.

   Synonym: linear

   lineal magnitude

4. (art) Line-drawn; composed of lines.

   lineal designs

5. (typography, of a typeface) Sans serif.

Antonyms

• collateral

Coordinate terms

• (of a line): areal, spacial, spatial

Derived terms

• ambilineal
• bilineal
• lineality
• lineally
• matrilineal
• multilineal
• nonlineal
• patrilineal
• polylineal
• rectilineal
• unilineal
• unlineal

Related terms

• line
• linear
• lineage

Further reading

• “lineal”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “lineal”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

Anagrams

• lienal, nillae

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin līneālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [li.neˈal]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -al

Adjective

lineal m or f (masculine and feminine plural lineals)

1. linear

   Synonym: linear

Derived terms

• linealitat
• linealment

Further reading

• “lineal”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “lineal”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “lineal” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “lineal” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Danish

Etymology

From Latin linealis, from linea (“line”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [lineˈæˀl]

Noun

lineal c (singular definite linealen, plural indefinite linealer)

1. a ruler (measuring or drawing device)
2. (figurative) used to denote that someone or something is (too) straight, regular and regulated

Inflection

Declension of lineal

common gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	lineal	linealen	linealer	linealerne
genitive	lineals	linealens	linealers	linealernes

References

• “lineal” in Den Danske Ordbog

Galician

Etymology

From Latin līneālis.

Adjective

lineal m or f (plural lineais)

1. linear

   Synonym: linear

Derived terms

• linealidade

Related terms

• liña

Further reading

• “lineal”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026

German

Etymology

From Latin līneālis. Doublet of linear.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lineˈaːl/
• Rhymes: -aːl

Adjective

lineal (strong nominative masculine singular linealer, not comparable)

1. (botany, of leaves) linear (long and narrow, with nearly parallel sides)

   Synonyms: linealisch, (obsolete) linearisch

Declension

Positive forms of lineal (uncomparable)

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist lineal	sie ist lineal	es ist lineal	sie sind lineal
strong declension (without article)	nominative	linealer	lineale	lineales	lineale
	genitive	linealen	linealer	linealen	linealer
	dative	linealem	linealer	linealem	linealen
	accusative	linealen	lineale	lineales	lineale
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der lineale	die lineale	das lineale	die linealen
	genitive	des linealen	der linealen	des linealen	der linealen
	dative	dem linealen	der linealen	dem linealen	den linealen
	accusative	den linealen	die lineale	das lineale	die linealen
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein linealer	eine lineale	ein lineales	(keine) linealen
	genitive	eines linealen	einer linealen	eines linealen	(keiner) linealen
	dative	einem linealen	einer linealen	einem linealen	(keinen) linealen
	accusative	einen linealen	eine lineale	ein lineales	(keine) linealen

References

• “lineal” in Duden online

Portuguese

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin līneālis.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /li.neˈaw/ [li.neˈaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /liˈnjal/ [liˈnjaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /liˈnjal/ [liˈnjaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /liˈnja.li/

Adjective

lineal m or f (plural lineais)

1. linear

   Synonym: linear

Further reading

• “lineal”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “lineal”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin līneālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lineˈal/ [li.neˈal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: li‧ne‧al

Adjective

lineal m or f (masculine and feminine plural lineales)

1. linear

   Synonym: linear

Derived terms

• álgebra lineal
• colineal
• combinación lineal
• ecuación lineal
• independencia lineal
• linealidad
• linealmente
• transformación lineal

Related terms

• línea

Further reading

• “lineal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025