Lineal

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Lineal \Lin"e*al\ (l[i^]n"[-e]*al), a. [L. linealis belonging to
     a line, fr. linea line: cf. F. lin['e]al. See 3d {Line}.]
     1. Descending in a direct line from an ancestor; hereditary;
        derived from ancestors; -- opposed to {collateral}; as, a
        lineal descent or a lineal descendant.
        [1913 Webster]


  
              The prime and ancient right of lineal succession.
                                                    --Locke.
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     2. Inheriting by direct descent; having the right by direct
        descent to succeed (to).
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              For only you are lineal to the throne. --Dryden.
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     3. Composed of lines; delineated; as, lineal designs.
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     4. In the direction of a line; of or pertaining to a line;
        measured on, or ascertained by, a line; linear; as, lineal
        magnitude.
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     {Lineal measure}, the measure of length; -- usually written
        {linear measure}.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  lineal
       adj 1: in a straight unbroken line of descent from parent to child;
              "lineal ancestors"; "lineal heirs"; "a direct
              descendant of the king"; "direct heredity" [syn: {direct}]
              [ant: {collateral}]
       2: arranged in a line

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  69 Moby Thesaurus words for "lineal":
     after, arrowlike, attendant, cadet, catenary, clannish,
     consecutive, dead straight, diphyletic, direct, ensuing, ethnic,
     even, family, flat, following, genealogical, genetic, gentile,
     gentilic, horizontal, in a line, junior, later, level, linear,
     national, ordinal, phyletic, phylogenetic, posterior, progressive,
     puisne, racial, rectilineal, rectilinear, right, ruler-straight,
     sequent, sequential, serial, seriate, smooth, straight,
     straight-cut, straight-front, straight-side, streamlined,
     subsequent, succeeding, successional, successive, totemic, tribal,
     true, unbending, unbent, unbowed, unbroken, uncurved, undeflected,
     undeviating, undistorted, uninterrupted, unswerving, unturned,
     upright, vertical, younger
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  LINEAL. That which comes in a line. Lineal consanguinity is that which 
  subsists between persons, one of whom is descended in a direct line from the 
  other. Lineal descent, is that which takes place among lineal kindred.