linch-hoop 
linch-hoop (linch'hop), ii. [< Unrli-(pin) + 
hoop 1 .] A ring on the spindle of a carriage- 
axle, held in place by the linch-pin. 
linch-pin (linch'pin), . [Also (simulating link 1 ) 
dial, tinhpin (early mod. E. also Unpin, linpinne, 
lynpyn), with loss of the appar. pi. suffix -s; 
prop., as formerly, linspin, lit. 'axle-pin,' < linse 
(obs.), axle, + pin*: see linse sad pin 1 .] A pin 
inserted in the spindle of the axle of a vehicle 
to prevent the wheel from slipping off. Also 
axle-pin. 
But if the rogue have gone a cup too far, 
Left out his linchpin, or forgot his tar, 
It [a carriage] suffers interruption. 
Cowper, Progress of Error, 1. 441. 
Linckia (ling'ki-a), n. [NL., named after the 
German naturalist J. H. Linck (1674-1734).] 
The typical genus of Linckiidce. Nardo, 1834. 
Lincklid3B(ling-ki'i-de),n.^. [NL.,< Linckia + 
-id(e.] A family of starfishes, of the order Aste- 
roidea, whose skeleton is composed of rounded 
or elliptical ossicles, either contiguous or united 
by rods. There are no spines, the body being smooth 
or only granular. L. ffuildingi inhabits Florida and the 
West Indies; L. wujasaalis ranges from California to 
Peru. Also Linclriadce. 
Lincoln green. See green 1 . 
Lincoln's finch. See finch 1 . 
Lincolnshire cheese. See cheese 1 . 
lincture (lingk'tur), n. [< ML. "linotura, < L. 
lingere, pp. linctus, lick; cf . Gr. teixew, lick : see 
lick 1 .] A medicine to be taken by licking or 
sucking; a substance of the consistence of 
honey, used for coughs, etc. 
Confections, treacle, mithridate, eclegmes, or linctureg, 
etc. Burton, Anat. of Mel., p. 371. 
linctus (lingk'tus), n. [NL. linctus, a licking, < 
L. lingere, pp. linctus, lick : see lincture.] Same 
as lincture. 
lind' (lind; formerly and prob. still dial, also 
lind), n. [< ME. lind, linde, lynde, < AS. liiul, 
also linde = D. linde = MLG. linde = OHG. linta, 
MHG. G. linde = Icel. Sw. Dan. lind, lind, linden 
(in AS. also a shield, as made of lind) ; prob. 
connected with lindP, lithe. G. dial, lind, bast, 
Icel. lindi, girdle (orig. of bast), are derived 
from the name of the tree. Cf. linden. Hence 
by corruption line 4 ; lime 2 .] Same as linden, 1. 
[Obsolete or local.] 
Be ay of chiere as light as leef on lynde. 
Chaucer, Clerk's Tale, L'Envoy, 1. 34. 
Was neuer lef vp-on lynde lyghter therafter. 
Piers Plowman (C), ii. 152. 
Iind 2 t, . [ME. lynd; a var. (due perhaps to 
the cognate Icel. linr or Dan. lind) of lithe, soft, 
gentle: see lithe 1 .] Soft; gentle. 
Be not prowcl, hot meke & lynd, 
And with tin better go thou be-hyud. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 21. 
lind-coalt, [ME. lyndecole."] Charcoal made 
of the wood of the linden-tree: as, "half an 
unce of lyndecole," MS. Soc. Antiq. 101, f. 76. 
(Halliwell.) 
linden (lin'den), a. and n. [Formerly also lyn- 
den; < ME. linden, < AS. linden (= G. linden), of 
the lind, ' Hud, lind, + -en : see lind 1 and -eifi. 
As a noun the word is modern, being, like aspen, 
orig. only adj.] I.f a. Of the linden. 
II. n. 1. A tree of the genus Tilia; the lime- 
tree. The common European linden is T. Europaea. An 
oil, used by perfumers, is distilled from its flowers. The 
American linden is T. Americana, and is also called bass- 
icood, bee-tree, etc. 
The linden broke her ranks and rent 
The woodbine wreaths that bind her, 
And down the middle, buzz ! she went 
With all her bees behind her. 
Tennyson, Amphion. 
2. A shield made of linden-wood ; any shield : a 
modern use, translating the Anglo-Saxon lind, 
used poetically for a shield. See shield. 
The shields placed in the graves were the ordinary lin- 
dens, of which no part commonly remains but the metal- 
boss handle. Hewitt, Ancient Armor, I. 78. 
Silver-leafed linden, Tilia argentea, of Hungary. 
linden-tree (lin'den-tre), n. Same as lind 1 , lin- 
den. 
Lindera (lin'dor-a), H. [NL. (C. P. Thunberg. 
1784), named after John Linder, a Swedish bot- 
anist of the early part of the 18th century.] 
A genus of lauraceous trees or shrubs of the 
tribe Litseaceie, having dioecious flowers sur- 
rounded by involucres, and often nine stamens 
having two-celled anthers. There are about 60 spe- 
cies, found in North America and in tropical and eastern 
Asia as far as Japan. L. Benzoin of North America, called 
spice-bush, mid allspice, and benjamin-bush, has a pleasant 
aromatic scent and taste, especially its bark and berries. 
Imdo (liu'do), n. [NL., < Sp. Pg. It, Undo, fine, 
beautiful, pretty.] One of the brilliantly col- 
3462 
ored thick-billed tanagers of South America; 
a bullfinch tanager of the genus Euphoniu. 
lind-treet, [ME. linde-tre, lyn-tre; < lind 1 + 
tree.] Same as lind 1 , linden-tree. Turner, Herbal. 
line 1 (lin), . [< ME. line, lin, lyn, < AS. lin, 
flax, linen, = OS. OFries. lin = D. Ujn = MLG. 
lin = OHG. MHG. lin, G. kin = Icel. lin = Sw. 
Dan. lin, flax, = Goth, lein, linen (not recorded 
in sense of 'flax '); cf. OF. F. lin = Sp. It. lino = 
Pg. linho, < L. linum = Gr. Mvav = OBulg. Unit 
= Lith. linai = Ir. lin, lion = W. Uin = Bret. 
lin, flax (in L., LGr., etc., also linen, a linen 
garment, a thread, line, cord, rope, etc.); not 
found in Skt., etc. It is probable but not cer- 
tain that the Teut., Slav., etc., forms are derived 
from the L. or Gr. Hence (from AS. lin) linen, 
lint 1 , linseed, linnet 1 , etc., and ult. (from L. 
linum) E. line*, line^, etc.] 1. Flax. [In the 
general sense obsolete or provincial.] 
He dronk never cidre ne wyn, 
Ne never wered clooth of lyn. 
Cursor Mundi. (UaUiwell.) 
Specifically, in technical use (a) Flax of the longer and 
fine staple, separated from the shorter by the hackle and 
prepared for spinning. (6) A hat-makers' pad or brush, 
now usually of padded velvet, for smoothing the nap of 
hats. 
2f. Cloth of flax ; linen. 
Throughout all parts of Fraunce they weaue line and 
make sailes thereof. Holland, tr. of Pliny, xlx. 1. 
Nor anie weaver, which his worke doth boast, 
In dieper, in damaske, or in lyne. 
Spenser, Muiopotmos, 1. 364. 
Little he was, and ever wore a breastplate made of linne. 
Chapman, Iliad, ii. 459. 
3f. Linen apparel; apparel generally. 
line 2 (lin), . [(a) < ME. line, lyne, a cord, a 
net, a snare, < AS. line = D. Ujn = OHG. Una, 
MHG. line, G. leine = Icel. Una = Dan. line ^ 
Sw. Una, a cord, rope; mixed with (6) ME. 
line, lyne, ligne, < OF. ligne, F. ligne = Pr. ligna 
= Sp. linea = Pg. linha = It. linea = D. MHG. 
G. Sw. Dan. lime, a line (mark), < L. linea, also 
lima, a linen thread, a string, line, feature, out- 
line, line of descent, etc., orig. fern, of lineug (= 
Gr. /Uveof, Atvovf), of flax, linen, < linum, flax, 
linen: see line 1 . It is uncertain whether the 
words of the first group () are Teut. derivatives 
of the Teut. form line 1 , or are borrowed or adapt- 
ed from L. linum, flax, linen, a linen thread, cord, 
rope, or, less prob., like the words of the second 
group (6), from the deriv. linea. The two groups 
are entirely confused in E.: see line 1 ,] 1. A 
thread, string, cord, or small rope of any kind, 
especially one designed for some particular use, 
as a fishing-fee, measuring-Kwe, clothes-line, a 
bowline, a haulmg-ffne, etc. 
Sowe hem I Simla I by a lyne other a threed. 
Palladius, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 85. 
Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? 
or who hath stretched the line upon it ? Job xxxviii. 5. 
The lines were out upon the poles they were painted 
green and were square and on the lines hung half the 
family linen. W. Besant, Fifty Years Ago, p. 86. 
Specifically (a) A cord used as a guide or marker in stone- 
work or carpentry ; a chalk-line or marking-line. (6) pi. 
A lot or portion marked off by or as by a measuring-line ; 
hence, fortune ; condition. 
The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places. 
Pa. xvi. 6. 
The old seaman paused a moment. "It is hard lines for 
me," he said, "to leave your honour in tribulation." 
Scott, Redgauntlet, ch. iii. 
(f) pi. The reins or thongs by which one guides a horse in 
driving. [U. 8.] 
2. Anything which resembles a thread or string 
in tenuity and extension. 
Yon gray lines 
That fret the clouds are messengers of day. 
Shale., J. C., ii. 1. 103. 
Specifically (a) A thread-like mark, as one made with a 
pen, pencil, or graving-tool ; a mark having length with 
little appreciable breadth; a stroke; a score. (6) In mu- 
sical notation: (1) One of the horizontal strokes or marks 
that constitute the staff. The usual staff consists of five 
such lines, that for Gregorian music of four, while larger 
numbers of lines have also been used. The lines are num- 
bered from below upward. The lines and the spaces be- 
tween them are collectively called degrees. The pitches 
to which the several degrees are assigned depend upon 
the clef and the signature placed at the head of the staff. 
When it is necessary temporarily to increase the com- 
pass of the staff above or below, added or leger lines are 
used, which are numbered up or down from the staff 
proper. See notation, sta/, and leijerZ. (2) A short dash 
or stroke used in figured bass to indicate that a tone of 
a previous chord is to be continued without regard to 
its harmonic connection into a second chord. See fiijured 
bass, under bass3. (3) A wavy horizontal mark, preceded 
l>y the letters 8m, added above or below a passage to in- 
dicate that it is to be played an octave above or below the 
pitch at which it is written. The end of such a transpo- 
sition is indicated by the word loco, 'in place,' or simply 
by the termination of the line. (4) A wavy vertical mark 
to the left of the notes of a chord, to indicate that the 
chord is to be played arpeggio, (c) A seam or furrow on 
line 
the face or hands. Such seams in the hands are the basis 
of palmistry. See phrases below. 
And do whate'er thou wilt, swift-footed Time, . . . 
O, carve not with thy hours my love's fair brow, 
Nor draw no lines there with thine antique pen. 
Shot., Sonnets, xix. 
3. In matli.: (a) The limit of a surface ; a length 
without breadth. These definitions, cited as well 
known by Aristotle, may be more precisely expressed 
thus : a part or the whole of the intersection of two sur- 
faces; a continuum of points extended in only one di- 
mension at each point, (ft) J n higher geom., a right 
line, ray, or axis; a curve of the first order. 
This use of the word is inaccurate but common, and can 
give rise to no inconvenience, since a line in sense (a) is 
usually called a curve in higher geometry, except a broken 
line, which is not considered. 
4. Outline; contour; lineament; configuration: 
as, a ship of fine lines. 
The lines of my body are as well drawn as his. 
Shak., Cymbeline, iv. 1. 10. 
5. A limit; division; boundary. 
The Hellenes always drew a sharp line between them- 
selves and the barbarians, a term by which they designated 
all non-Hellenic people. 
W. E. Hearn, Aryan Household, p. 262. 
6. A row; a continued series or rank: as, a 
line of trees or of buildings. 
We past long lines of northern capes. 
Tennyson, The Voyage. 
(a) A straight row of letters and words between two mar- 
gins : as, a page of thirty lines. 
And yet I would I had overlooked the letter. . . . 
Lo, here in one line is his name twice writ. 
Shak., T. G. of V., i. 2.123. 
(b) In poetry, a succession of feet (colon or period), con- 
sisting of words written or printed in one row ; a verse. 
A line or verse is no definite prosodic group of feet, but 
may consist of a single colon or of two cola, the ordinary 
width of a page or column generally limiting its length. 
Short verses or cola are sometimes printed as single lines, 
or combined in pairs to constitute one line. The name line 
is sometimes extended to verses slightly exceeding the 
printed line in length, but marked by indention and want 
of initial capital as one verse. In ancient prosody a line 
(versus, errixos) was conventionally determined to be a di- 
colic meter or period, or a inonocolic period of eighteen or 
more morse in magnitude. A shorter period was called a 
colon or a comma. Abbreviated I. 
Waller was smooth ; but Dryden taught to join 
The varying verse, the full resounding line. 
Pope, Imit. of Horace, II. i. 268. 
Hence (c) pi. Any piece of writing, as a letter, or an 
actor's part in the dialogue of a play ; specifically, a short 
or occasional poem, or poetry in general. 
Com'st thou with deep premeditated lines, 
With written pamphlets studiously devised? 
Shalt., 1 Hen. VI., iii. 1. 2. 
(d) A short letter one as it were consisting of only a line 
of writing ; a note : as, I received a line from my friend. 
(e) pi. Same as marriage lines. [Colloq.] 
"How should a child like you know that the marriage 
was irregular?" " Because I had no lines ! " cries Caroline. 
. . . "And our maid we had then said to me, ' Miss Carry, 
Where's your lines? And it's no good without.' And I 
knew it wasn't." Thackeray, Philip, xii. 
(/) A row or rank of soldiers drawn up with an extended 
front: distinguished from column. (</) A disposition of 
ships at regular intervals, either at anchor or under way. 
See line of battle. (A) pi. A punishment in English schools, 
consisting in requiring the student to commit a certain 
number of lines of Latin or Greek verse to memory. 
7. A continuous or connected series, as of pro- 
geny or kin, descending from a common pro- 
genitor : as, a Hne of kings ; the male line. 
He 
From John of Gaunt doth bring his pedigree, 
Being but fourth of that heroic line. 
Shot., 1 Hen. VI., ii. 5. 78. 
8. A series of public conveyances, as coaches, 
steamers, packets, and the like, passing to and 
fro between places with regularity: as, a line of 
ships to New Zealand; the Cunard line. 9. A 
railroad, or a continuous part of a railroad: 
as, a main line, branch line, through line. 10. 
A telegraph-wire between stations, forming 
with them the circuit. 11. In com.: (a) An 
order given to an agent or commercial traveler 
for goods. (b) The goods received upon such 
order, (c) The stock on hand of any particular 
class of goods. 12. In ner., the division or de- 
marcation between a bearing and the field, or 
between one bearing and another when one is 
charged upon the other. The ordinaries and subor- 
dinaries are the bearings whose lines are most commonly 
varied. See dancettJ, dovetailed, embattled, engrailed, in- 
dented, imxcted, nebule, raytdf, and mide or uavy. 
13. In fort. : (a) A trench or rampart. (b)pl. 
A series of field-works, either continuous or 
with intervals. Willielm, Mil. Diet. 14. Mi/it.. 
in the British army, the regular infantry, as 
distinguished from cavalry, artillery, militia, 
volunteer corps, etc. (in some cases, however, 
includingtheordinaryregiments of cavalry); in 
the United States army, the infantry, cavalry, 
and artillery of the regular army. The combatant 
officers in the'navy are called officers of the line, as distill- 
