# lineal
## 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: /ˈlɪni.əl/
* (UK) IPA: /ˈlɪniːəl/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)

### Adjective

lineal (not comparable)
* Pertaining to a line.
* Composed of lines; delineated.
    lineal designs
* In the direction of a line; of a line; of or relating to a line; measured on, or ascertained by, a line; linear.
    lineal magnitude
* Having the quality of proceeding, either physically or conceptually, according to a given rationale or other controlling principles of belief, opinion, practice, or phenomenon.
* (anthropological and sociological): Having an ancestral relationship to mothers, fathers, grandparents, (etc.) and having a descendant relationship to sons, daughters, grandchildren (etc.), exclusive of collateral siblings.
** 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
* (anthropological, sociological, legal): Inheriting by direct descent; having the right by direct descent to succeed (to).
** 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.

#### Antonyms

* collateral

#### Coordinate terms

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

#### Derived terms

* lineality
* lineally
* matrilineal
* patrilineal
* polylineal

#### Related terms

* line
* linear
* lineage

#### Further reading

* “lineal”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
* “lineal”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

### Anagrams

* lienal, nillae

## Catalan
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin līneālis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [li.neˈal]
* Rhymes: -al

### Adjective

lineal m or f (masculine and feminine plural lineals)
* linear
    Synonym: linear

#### Derived terms

* linealitat
* linealment

### Further reading

* “lineal” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “lineal”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
* “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: [lineˈæˀl]

### Noun

lineal c (singular definite linealen, plural indefinite linealer)
* a ruler (measuring or drawing device)
* (figurative) used to denote that someone or something is (too) straight, regular and regulated

#### Inflection
### References

* “lineal” in Den Danske Ordbog

## Galician
### Etymology

From Latin līneālis.

### Adjective

lineal m or f (plural lineais)
* 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, 2012–2025

## Portuguese
### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin līneālis.

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /li.neˈaw/ [li.neˈaʊ̯]
* (Portugal) IPA: /liˈnjal/ [liˈnjaɫ]
* (Portugal) IPA: /liˈnjal/ [liˈnjaɫ]
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /liˈnja.li/

### Adjective

lineal m or f (plural lineais)
* linear
    Synonym: linear

### Further reading

* “lineal”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

## Spanish
### Etymology

From Latin līneālis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /lineˈal/ [li.neˈal]
* Rhymes: -al
* Syllabification: li‧ne‧al

### Adjective

lineal m or f (masculine and feminine plural lineales)
* 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, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10