line 
guished from the nnn-romlmhtnts, or ojfflcern of thf sta/. 
TliUH, the (in-' nitici-i s ;tiv ,'ulniir;ils, rummodnres, captains, 
I'Hiiinmmk'rs, lieutenant commanders, lieutenants, liru- 
ti'imntMJiinior uradr), riiHiKiirt, and midshipmen. Mates 
boatHwahiB, and Kunners are also line officers, bat not in 
the line of promotion. 
It IB now generally <-<>nr.-<lcd tlmt the law contemplates 
that the fifth ting ]x>rtion of tin; army, aa cavalry, artillery, 
infantry, and i-n^incris, . . . constitutes the litf of the 
army. Wilhelm, Mil. Diet. 
15. The course iu which anything proceeds 
or which any one takes; direction given or as- 
sumed: as, a line of policy or of argument; to 
mark out a line of travel or of conduct ; to pur- 
sue u certain ti/n of business or of art. 
If I chance to make an excursion Into the matters of the 
Common wealth, it is not out of curiosity, orbusy-bodinesse 
to he inudlinR in other men's ///"-:. 
Fuller, Church Hist, U. Ix. 23. 
Mr i- uncommonly powerful in his own line, but It ia not 
the line of u llrst-rate man. Ct&rridyc. 
I am now Bending back to Belle 1'laln all my wagons for 
a fresh supply of provisions and ammunition, and propose 
to flght it out on this line If it takes all summer. 
U. S. (Jrant, To Gen. Ualleck, May 11, 1864. 
16. A unit of length, the twelfth of an inch, or 
sometimes the tenth of an inch. AS a aubdivlalon 
of an English Inch It was never common and is now obso- 
letti. The Paris line, a unit formerly much used through- 
out Europe, ia the twelfth part of a French Inch, equal to 
0.0888 of an English inch, or 2.266 millimeters. 
17. The equinoctial line ; the equator. 
Twenty of the dog-days now reign in 's nose ; all that 
stand about him are under the line. 
Shak., Hen. VIII., v. 4. 44. 
Abdominal line. See abdominal. Absorption- lines. 
st-c atmorption. Aclinic, adlabatic, agonic, Alcma- 
nian, atmospheric, bast-alveolar, basic, etc. , line. See 
the adjectives. Asymptotic line, a curve upon a aur- 
face the envelop of normal sections, having infinite radii 
of curvature. Not to be confounded with asymptotical 
lines. Baslobregmatic line, the line joining the basion 
and bregma. Becket-line, a short piece of rope used to 
form a becket or bight on a longer or larger line, such, 
for example, as Is used in rigging a trawl. Breeding in 
the line. See breeding. Broken, bulkhead, cardiac 
line. See the qualifying words. Casting-line, a line, 
from 7 to 9 feet long, made of several gut-lengths, attached 
to the rod-line in angling, and having the drops fastened 
to it. Check-line, a line attached to a fishing-line fas- 
tened to an outrigger, by which the fishing-line ia drawn 
in to the boat without disturbing the outrigger. Circu- 
lar, concluding, contingent, etc.. line. See the adjec- 
tives. Curved line, aline whose direction continuously 
changes along its length. Curved line Of the ilium , in- 
ferior, middle, and superior, the lines on the dorsum ilii. 
marking off the origins of the gluta>i muscles. Also called 
linea glvtasa. Curved lines of the occipital bone, the 
curved lines on the outer surface of the occipital bone: a 
superior, median, and inferior are distinguished. Also 
called lincce nucrue. Cutting-down line. Hee cutting, 
Cyclifying, dimidiate, etc. .line. See the adjectives. 
Datum-line. seedoum. Directed right line, dis- 
located line, dotted line. See direct, dislocate, doti. 
Dobie's line. See membrane. Double line, in entom., 
a line formed of two generally unequal linea which are 
close together and parallel. Equinoctial line, the celes- 
tial equator ; also, the terrestrial equator : in the latter 
sense commonly called the line. Equi potential, focal, 
full line, see the adjectives. Facial line of Camper. 
See craniometry. Fiducial line, (a) The straight edge 
of the alidade of a plane-table. <M The initial Tine of a 
graduated circle or vernier, (c) Any line which is intended 
to be taken as a standard straight line. Fraunhofer's 
lines. See tpectnt m. Frontal minimum line, the short- 
est horizontal line drawn between the temporal crests of 
the frontal bone. Generating line. See generate. Geo- 
desic, giugival, etc., line. See the adjectives. Geo- 
detic line, a curve upon a surface any arc of which be- 
tween points not too remote is the shortest path on that 
surface between those points. The osculating plane of 
a geodetic line at any point is there normal to the sur- 
face. -Geometrical linet, an algebraic curve. Gun- 
ter's line, (a) A logarithmic line on Gunter's scale, used 
in performing the multiplication and division of numbers 
mechanically by means of dividers. Also called line of lines 
and lin? of numbers. (6) A sliding scale corresponding to 
logarithms, for performing these operations by inspec- 
tion without dividers. Also called Gunter's sliding rule. 
Hard lines. See def. !(&). Helispherical line. same 
as loxodromic line. Horizontal line. See horizontal. 
Hour-lines, in dialing, the common sections of the 
hour circles of the sphere with the plane of the dial. 
IliOpectineal line, in anat. See t/iV>/>errtjM*rtJ. Ima- 
ginary, isochlmal, etc., line. See the adjectives, In- 
dex Of a line. Sec index. Initial line. See polar 
coordinates in a plane, under coordinate. Isoclinal, 
isodvnamic, isogonic lines. See the adjectives. Iso- 
phasal line, a line drawn in the plane of the imaginary 
variable through all values which correspond to values 
of the function having one value of the argument. Iso- 
timal line, a line drawn in the plane of the imaginary 
variable through all values which correspond to values 
of the function having one modulus. -Lateral line, in 
ichth,, a longitudinal line along each side of many fishes, 
marked by the structure or color of the skin, or by both. 
It consists of a row of tubes or pores, mostly on scales, ex- 
tending from the head to or toward the. tail. The pores 
are the ducts of nuciferous glands whose product is ex- 
creted on the sides of the fish. The modifications of tbe 
lateral line are innumerable, and often afford classiflcatory 
characters. Thus, the line is more or less nearly parallel 
with the outline of the back in most acanthoptrry^ian 
fishes, and with the outline of the belly in cyprinoids and 
many other malacopteryghui fishes. The line is well 
shown in the cuts under caplin, haddock, and hake (which 
see). Leger line. See (V^cr---. Lesser line. 
218 
3463 
Line abreast. See o*rur. Line and levelt, a 
plumb-line; hence, rule; method. 
This decencie is therfore the line A leuell for al good 
makers to do their busfnea by. 
fiirt.-nfiitin. Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 218. 
We steal by line and level. Shak., Tempest, iv. 1. 239. 
Line at Infinity, the aggregate of all points in any plane 
at an infinite distance from any given origin. It is called 
(lie fin-- tit in'itiit'i because represented by a line in a per- 
spective projection; for In such a projection every straight 
line Is projected into a straight Hue, and no other curve 
or locus is so projected, generally speaking. Line co- 
ordinates. See fine-coordinate*. lune drawing. See 
drawing. -Line geometry, see geometry. Line of ap- 
sides. () In aiw. astron., the line through the perigee and 
aiK>gee of a planet's orbit (6) In mod. astron., the line 
tin- iiigh the perihelion and aphelion ; the major axis of the 
orbit. Line of ascent. See ascent. Line of battle, the 
line formed by the ships of a fleet or by an army when or 
as when in readiness for action. Line of bearing, a line 
formed by the ships of a fleet in which each shipbears by 
compass in a prescribed direction from the next ahead or 
astern or on either side. Line Of beauty, in art, a line 
of undulating curvature which, it has been maintained, 
must enter aa a potent factor in all graceful comblua* 
tlona of line and form. Different artiata have given it 
different forma, but it is most commonly considered as a 
curve of contrary flexure resembling a very Blender elon- 
gated letter S. Line Of center, in mach.: (a) A straight 
line joining the centers of two wheels in gear. /-.'. //. 
Knight, (o) The dead line ; that line in which a crank and 
the connecting-rod stand when their axes form a straight 
line. Line of coincidence, colllmatlon, counter-ap- 
proach. See coincidence, etc. Line of consanguinity, 
a family relationship between two persona : it is either 
descending (the relatlonahip of a person to his descen- 
dant), attending (the relationship of a person to his an* 
cestor), or transversal (the relationship of a person to a 
descendantof one of his progenitors). Line Of curva- 
ture, a line traced upon any surface auch that the nor- 
mals at any two successive points meet one another. 
Through each point of every surface there are two lines of 
curvature which are perpendicular to each other. Line 
of Daubenton. See craniometry. Line of defense. 
See defense. Line Of dip. in geol., a line In the plane of 
a atraturo, or part of a stratum, perpendicular to its Inter- 
section with a horizontal plane; the line of greatest in- 
clination of a atratom to the horizon. See dip. Line Of 
direction, (a) See direction. (6) A line laid down in 
surveying; the bearing. Line of distance. See distance. 
Line Of equilibrium, a curve every point on which is 
a point of equilibrium. Line of fire, flotation, flow. 
See fire, etc. Line of force, (a) A straight line through 
the point of application of a force and in the direction of 
its action. (&) A curve whose tangent everywhere coin- 
cides with the direction at the point of tangency of a force 
distributed through apace. Maxwell, following a hint 
from Faraday, supposes these lines so drawn that the num- 
ber per unit of area normal to them In the neighborhood of 
a point shall measure the intensity of the force at that 
point Line of health, or line of the liver (hepatic line), 
in palmistry, a line beginning at the wrist, near the line of 
life, and running upward to the base of the fourth finger. 
Line Of life, In palmistry, a line starting near the wrist, 
skirting the base of the thumb, and terminating between 
the thumb and the line of the head. Line of lines, line 
of numbers. Same as Ounter's line (a). Line of motion, 
(a) A curve imagined to be so drawn in a fluid that the di- 
rection at any point is that of the motion of the fluid at the 
same point ; a line of flow. Lamb. (6) The path of a particle 
of a moving fluid. Basset. Line of nodes. See node. 
Line Of Saturn, or line Of fate, in palmistry, a line begin- 
ning near the wrist, and running up the middle of the hand 
toward the base of the second finger. Line of spherical 
curvature, a Hne every point of which ia an umbilic on the 
surface. Line or curve of swiftest descent. Same as 
brachistochrone. Line of the head, in palmistry, a Hue be- 
ginning between the thumb and forefinger, and extending 
across the central part of the palm of the hand, parallel to 
the line of the heart Line Of the heart, in palmistry, 
a line passing across the hand, skirting the mounts of 
Mercury, Apollo, Saturn, and Jupiter. Line of the sun 
or line Of fortune, in palmistry, a line running upward 
to the base of the third finger. Lines of level. See 
Ln*ll T.inftg of operation (mtZilX all lines of com* 
in indention by which an army may reach an enemy's base 
of operationa. A simple line of operations is one by which 
the divisions of an army are kept together, or within sup- 
porting distance of each other. The roada forming this 
line are nearly parallel, quite close together, and have no 
impassable obstructions between them. A double line of 
operations is one in which a divided army followa two 
sensibly parallel roads so far apart that the two sections 
of the army cannot be assembled upon the same day on 
the same field of battle. Double lines of operation may 
be either convert/ing or diverging, according as they ap- 
proach each other or draw wider apart as they advance. 
An accidental line of operations is adopted when an army 
la compelled to abandon the line of operationa proposed 
in the original phut and take up another. A temporary line 
of operationa (also called mancmver line) ia one which devi- 
ates from the line of movement adopted in the general plan 
of the campaign. When the movement Is completed the 
general line is resumed. An interior line of operations la 
one which lies between the double lines of an enemy, and 
enablea the army following it to fall upon and defeat the 
parts of the enemy's army in succession. In such a cue 
the double lines are said to be exterior lines. Logistic, 
loxodromic, magistral, etc., line. See the adjectTvet. 
Marriage lines, a marriage certificate. [Colloq., Eng.) 
Mason and Dixon's line, the boundary between Pennayl- 
vania on the north and Maryland on the south (lat 39* 43* 
N.). partly surveyed by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon 
between 1763 and 1767, and afterward completed by others: 
cek'hrated before the extinction of slavery as a line of de- 
marcation between the free and the slave States. Me- 
chanical llnet, a transcendental curve. Medial, me- 
dian, meridian, etc., line. See the adjectives. Multi- 
ple lines. See muiti'ifa. - Naso-alveolar line, nasoba- 
silarline. see craniometry. Natural line of sight. SIT 
tight. Nelaton'a line, in tntrg,, a line drawn from the an- 
line 
terior superior spine of the Ilium to the most prominent 
partof thetunerosltyof OK- l*chliiin. In the i-oumeof thia 
line lie the center of the a4M-t illinium ;m<l tin- *uumiH of the 
trochanter majr>r of tlic femur. Neumann lines. See 
mttearitc Nodal, objective, occult,' tc, lines. Seethe 
adjectives. Oblique line of tbe lower jaw, an oblique 
line beginning In low the mental fonuii'M] ami jiowit.K up- 
ward anil twckward to the anterior border of the coronuid 
process. Officer of tbe line. See def. U. Organs of 
the lateral lines, in t<-MA. Bee muanacanalt, under mu- 
eout. Farasternal line, the line drawn on the surface 
of the chest perpendicularly downward from the Junction 
of the middle and Inner thirds of the clavicle. Polar line, 
the intersection of consecutive normal planes to a skew 
curve. This U the name given by Munge (drmt polaire\ 
but Mannheim's axis tif curvature is preferable. Pop- 
liteal line, a line passing downward and inward on the 
upper part of the posterior surface of the tlhla ; It gives 
origin to the soleus muscle. Quadrate line, in mutt., the 
linea quadrat! (which see, under linea). Redan line, a 
series of redans connected by straight curtains. Mahan, 
M 111 t. Engineering Right line. See riyU. - gulp of the 
line. See ihip. Shotted line, a llnhinK-llne to which 
split shot are attached as sinkers. Shotted casting-lines 
are also used In special cases for fly-fishing. Spllic line, 
a blclrcular quartic having an axis of symmetry. Such a 
curve Is a plane section of an anchor-ring, or torus, and 
indeed of four different ones, though all may be Imagi- 
nary. Stream-line, In hudnrdyjutmict : (a) A line of mo- 
tion in a fluid whose motion Is steady. Sluice*, (t) The 
actual path of a particle or molecule in a fluid mass. 
Bupracondylar lines of the femur, the two linea into 
which the linea aspcra divides below. Telegraph-line, 
telephone-line. See Meyraphy, Ulephon)/. Temporal 
inferior line, the lower of the two curving ridges which 
i>a.s back from the external angular process of the frontal 
bone over the frontal and parietal bones. Also called 
lower temporal ridge. Temporal lines, the two curv- 
ing ridges which pass back from the external angular 
process of the frontal bone over the frontal and parietal 
bones. The upper, the mprrior temporal line or upper tem- 
poral ridfjf, is the line of attachment of the temporal fas- 
cia, while the lower marks the upper boundary of the at- 
tachment of the temporal muscle. The line. Same as 
equinoctial line. To draw the line. See draw. To 
drop a line. See drop. To give line. Seeyiwi.r.t 
To give one line, to allow one apparent freedom or oppor- 
tunity of action, with a view to securing an ultimate ad- 
vantage: in allusion to the angler's playing of a hooked 
fish. 
Wherefore should the Ministers aim them so much line 
for shifts and delays ? Milton, Reformation In Eng., 1. 
It's policy to yive 'em line. Dickent, Hard Times, li. 8. 
To keep a line, in archery, to shoot in the vertical plane 
of the gold of the target. TO make even lines. See 
event. To part a line, to break it, as when a whale runs 
so fast as to break the whale-line. Also to part a warp. 
To sound a line, to go down when harpooned and 
carry the line with It : said of a whale. To sound all 
line, to go down so far as to take out all the line from 
the boat : said of a whale. To stop a line, to confine 
or fasten a rope, usually by means of a smaller one. 
Thus, to stop the line to the harpoon-staff is to fasten 
the line to the handle by passing one or more turns of rope- 
yarn around both line and pole, and confining the ends by 
knotting them together. To wet one's line, to put ones 
fishing-line to use; to flsli. Trapezoid line, the line of 
attachment of the trapezold ligament on the under side 
of the outer part of the clavicle. Visual line. Same 
as visual axil (which see, under aril'). Vortez-llne, a 
curve imagined to be so drawn In a fluid that Its direction 
Is everywhere that of the instantaneous axis of molecular 
rotation at that point Wallace's line |so named after 
Alfred R. Wallace, who defined it), in toageoy., a line as- 
sumed to separate the Indomalayan from the Austroma- 
layan zoological region or fauna! area. It passes between 
Borneo and Celebes, through the strait of Macassar, south- 
ward between Hall and Lombok, northeastward between 
Mindanao and Gflolo. This line divides the shallow wa- 
ters of the Indomalayan region from the much deeper 
Anstronmlayan seas; and the character of the fauna Is 
quite different on the two sides of It White line, in 
printing, a blank line ; a blank space equal In depth to the 
space occupied by a line of reading In any given size of type. 
I In geometry run* is often used Instead of line, so that 
phrases not found above should be sought under curm.) 
line' 2 (lin), r.; pret. and pp. lined, ppr. lining. 
[< F. ligner = So. linear = It. lineare (cf. D. lij- 
nen, linieren = G. liniren = Dan. liniere = Sw. 
Unit ni), line, < L. lineare, reduce to a straight 
line. ML. draw lines upon, < linea, a line : see 
line', n. In defs. 6, 7, the senses touch those 
of line 3 , ?.] I. trans. 1. To draw lines upon; 
mark with lines or thread-like strokes : said of 
some decorative processes, and also of the ef- 
fects of age, fatigue, etc., on the human counte- 
nance. 
Some wood engravers are but too apt to pride them- 
selves on the delicacy of their lining, without considering 
whether it be well adapted to express their subject 
Chatto, Wood Engraving, p. 584. 
The simple operation of lining the edge of a plate Is 
executed by female hands. Art Journal, N. S., IX. 267. 
2. To delineate ; draw ; paint. [Bare.] 
All the pictures fairest lined 
Are but black to Rosalind. 
Shalt., As you Like it, lit 2. 87. 
3. To give out, line by line ; read one or two of 
the lines or strophes of (a metrical hymn) in 
public worship before singing. The custom of lining 
out the hymns originated at a time when printed books 
were scarce, and when congregational singing could be se- 
cured in no other way; It is now nearly unknown. The 
reading was done hy the clerk, by a deacon, or by the offici- 
ating clergyman himself. In New England It w I - 
times called deaconing. Usually with rat 
