linear

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:

linear

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Latin līneāris, from līnea (“line”) + -āris (adjectival suffix), equivalent to line +‎ -ar. Doublet of lineal.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈlɪn.i.ɚ/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈlɪn.i.ə/

Adjective

linear (comparative more linear, superlative most linear)

1. Having the form of a line; straight or roughly straight; following a direct course.
   • 2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 4:

     The route taken does not have to be a perfectly straight line, just so long as it is linear and is followed consistently for each transect taken.

2. Of or relating to lines.
3. Made, or designed to be used, in a step-by-step, sequential manner.

   a linear medium

4. (botany, of leaves) Long and narrow, with nearly parallel sides.
5. (mathematics) (of polynomials or polynomial equations)
   1. (of a polynomial) Having degree less than one; that is, being of the form ${\displaystyle a_{1}x_{1}+a_{2}x_{2}+\cdots +a_{n}x_{n}}$, where each ${\displaystyle x_{i}}$ is a variable and each ${\displaystyle a_{i}}$ is a coefficient. See also Linear polynomials on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

      ${\displaystyle 4x+5y+{\frac {1}{2}}z}$ is a linear polynomial, but ${\displaystyle 4xy+{\frac {1}{2}}z}$ and ${\displaystyle 4x+z^{2}}$ are not.

   2. (of a polynomial equation) Involving only linear polynomials. See also Linear equation on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

      The graph of the linear equation ${\displaystyle y=ax+b}$ is a straight line with slope ${\displaystyle a}$ and y-intercept ${\displaystyle b}$

6. (mathematics) (of functions or maps)
   1. (of a function between vector spaces) An additive, homogeneous mapping; that is, a function ${\displaystyle f:V\to W}$ is linear if it distributes over vector addition (${\displaystyle f(\mathbf {v} +\mathbf {w} )=f(\mathbf {v} )+f(\mathbf {w} )}$) and respects scalar multiplication (${\displaystyle f(c\mathbf {v} )=cf(\mathbf {v} )}$). If ${\displaystyle V}$ and ${\displaystyle W}$ are vector spaces over a field ${\displaystyle K}$, ${\displaystyle f}$ may also be called a ${\displaystyle K}$-linear map. See also linear map on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

      The map ${\displaystyle f:\mathbb {R} ^{3}\to \mathbb {R} ^{2}}$ taking ${\displaystyle (x,y,z)\mapsto (x+y+z,x-y+3z)}$ is a linear map.

   2. (of a function over a module) A module homomorphism; that is, a group homomorphism that commutes with scalar multiplication. See also Module homomorphism on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
7. (physics) A type of length measurement involving only one spatial dimension (as opposed to area or volume).

   a linear meter

Antonyms

• nonlinear

Coordinate terms

• (pertaining to length): areal, spacial, spatial
• (one-dimensional unit): cubic, square

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

linear (plural linears)

1. (radio slang) Ellipsis of linear amplifier..

Anagrams

• Arline, Erlian, Irelan, Lanier, aliner, enrail, lanier, larine, nailer, renail

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin līneāris.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central)
• IPA^(key): (Balearic)
• IPA^(key): (Valencian)

Adjective

linear m or f (masculine and feminine plural linears)

1. linear

   Synonym: lineal

Related terms

• línia

Further reading

• “linear” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “linear”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “linear” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “linear” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Indonesian

Etymology

Internationalism, borrowed from Dutch lineair (“linear”), from French linéaire, from Latin līneāris.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /liˈnɛar/
• Rhymes: -ar, -r
• Hyphenation: li‧nè‧ar

Adjective

linèar

1. alternative spelling of linièr (“linear”)

References

Further reading

• “linear” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.

Portuguese

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin līneāris.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: li‧ne‧ar

Adjective

linear m or f (plural lineares)

1. linear (having the form of a straight line)
2. (mathematics) linear (being a first-degree polynomial)
3. linear (made in a step-by-step, logical manner)

Related terms

• linha

Further reading

• “linear” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

Romanian

Adjective

linear m or n (feminine singular lineară, masculine plural lineari, feminine and neuter plural lineare)

1. Alternative form of liniar

Declension

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lineˈaɾ/
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: li‧ne‧ar

Etymology 1

From Latin lineāris.

Adjective

linear m or f (masculine and feminine plural lineares)

1. (botany) linear

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Latin lineāre.

Verb

linear (first-person singular present lineo, first-person singular preterite lineé, past participle lineado)

1. to line
2. to outline, mark out

Conjugation

Derived terms

Further reading

• “linear”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014