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11 definitions found
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 :   [ gcide ]

  Line \Line\, n. [OE. line, AS. l[=i]ne cable, hawser, prob. from
     L. linea a linen thread, string, line, fr. linum flax,
     thread, linen, cable; but the English word was influenced by
     F. ligne line, from the same L. word linea. See Linen.]
     1. A linen thread or string; a slender, strong cord; also, a
        cord of any thickness; a rope; a hawser; as, a fishing
        line; a line for snaring birds; a clothesline; a towline.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Who so layeth lines for to latch fowls. --Piers
                                                    Plowman.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A more or less threadlike mark of pen, pencil, or graver;
        any long mark; as, a chalk line.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. The course followed by anything in motion; hence, a road
        or route; as, the arrow descended in a curved line; the
        place is remote from lines of travel.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. Direction; as, the line of sight or vision.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. A row of letters, words, etc., written or printed; esp., a
        row of words extending across a page or column.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     6. A short letter; a note; as, a line from a friend.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     7. (Poet.) A verse, or the words which form a certain number
        of feet, according to the measure.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              In the preceding line Ulysses speaks of Nausicaa.
                                                    --Broome.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     8. Course of conduct, thought, occupation, or policy; method
        of argument; department of industry, trade, or
        intellectual activity.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              He is uncommonly powerful in his own line, but it is
              not the line of a first-rate man.     --Coleridge.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     9. (Math.) That which has length, but not breadth or
        thickness.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     10. The exterior limit of a figure, plat, or territory;
         boundary; contour; outline.
         [1913 Webster]
  
               Eden stretched her line
               From Auran eastward to the royal towers
               Of great Seleucia.                   --Milton.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     11. A threadlike crease marking the face or the hand; hence,
         characteristic mark.
         [1913 Webster]
  
               Though on his brow were graven lines austere.
                                                    --Byron.
         [1913 Webster]
  
               He tipples palmistry, and dines
               On all her fortune-telling lines.    --Cleveland.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     12. Lineament; feature; figure. ``The lines of my boy's
         face.'' --Shak.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     13. A straight row; a continued series or rank; as, a line of
         houses, or of soldiers; a line of barriers.
         [1913 Webster]
  
               Unite thy forces and attack their lines. --Dryden.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     14. A series or succession of ancestors or descendants of a
         given person; a family or race; as, the ascending or
         descending line; the line of descent; the male line; a
         line of kings.
         [1913 Webster]
  
               Of his lineage am I, and his offspring
               By very line, as of the stock real.  --Chaucer.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     15. A connected series of public conveyances, and hence, an
         established arrangement for forwarding merchandise, etc.;
         as, a line of stages; an express line.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     16. (Geog.)
         (a) A circle of latitude or of longitude, as represented
             on a map.
         (b) The equator; -- usually called the line, or
             equinoctial line; as, to cross the line.
             [1913 Webster]
  
     17. A long tape, or a narrow ribbon of steel, etc., marked
         with subdivisions, as feet and inches, for measuring; a
         tapeline.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     18. (Script.)
         (a) A measuring line or cord.
             [1913 Webster]
  
                   He marketh it out with a line.   --Is. xliv.
                                                    13.
         (b) That which was measured by a line, as a field or any
             piece of land set apart; hence, allotted place of
             abode.
             [1913 Webster]
  
                   The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant
                   places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. --Ps.
                                                    xvi. 6.
         (c) Instruction; doctrine.
             [1913 Webster]
  
                   Their line is gone out through all the earth.
                                                    --Ps. xix. 4.
             [1913 Webster]
  
     19. (Mach.) The proper relative position or adjustment of
         parts, not as to design or proportion, but with reference
         to smooth working; as, the engine is in line or out of
         line.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     20. The track and roadbed of a railway; railroad.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     21. (Mil.)
         (a) A row of men who are abreast of one another, whether
             side by side or some distance apart; -- opposed to
             column.
         (b) The regular infantry of an army, as distinguished
             from militia, guards, volunteer corps, cavalry,
             artillery, etc.
             [1913 Webster]
  
     22. (Fort.)
         (a) A trench or rampart.
         (b) pl. Dispositions made to cover extended positions,
             and presenting a front in but one direction to an
             enemy.
             [1913 Webster]
  
     23. pl. (Shipbuilding) Form of a vessel as shown by the
         outlines of vertical, horizontal, and oblique sections.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     24. (Mus.) One of the straight horizontal and parallel
         prolonged strokes on and between which the notes are
         placed.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     25. (Stock Exchange) A number of shares taken by a jobber.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     26. (Trade) A series of various qualities and values of the
         same general class of articles; as, a full line of
         hosiery; a line of merinos, etc. --McElrath.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     27. The wire connecting one telegraphic station with another,
         or the whole of a system of telegraph wires under one
         management and name.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     28. pl. The reins with which a horse is guided by his driver.
         [U. S.]
         [1913 Webster]
  
     29. A measure of length; one twelfth of an inch.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     Hard lines, hard lot. --C. Kingsley. [See Def. 18.]
  
     Line breeding (Stockbreeding), breeding by a certain family
        line of descent, especially in the selection of the dam or
        mother.
  
     Line conch (Zo["o]l.), a spiral marine shell ({Fasciolaria
        distans), of Florida and the West Indies. It is marked by
        narrow, dark, revolving lines.
  
     Line engraving.
         (a) Engraving in which the effects are produced by lines
             of different width and closeness, cut with the burin
             upon copper or similar material; also, a plate so
             engraved.
         (b) A picture produced by printing from such an
             engraving.
  
     Line of battle.
         (a) (Mil. Tactics) The position of troops drawn up in
             their usual order without any determined maneuver.
         (b) (Naval) The line or arrangement formed by vessels of
             war in an engagement.
  
     Line of battle ship. See Ship of the line, below.
  
     Line of beauty (Fine Arts),an abstract line supposed to be
        beautiful in itself and absolutely; -- differently
        represented by different authors, often as a kind of
        elongated S (like the one drawn by Hogarth).
  
     Line of centers. (Mach.)
         (a) A line joining two centers, or fulcra, as of wheels
             or levers.
         (b) A line which determines a dead center. See Dead
             center, under Dead.
  
     Line of dip (Geol.), a line in the plane of a stratum, or
        part of a stratum, perpendicular to its intersection with
        a horizontal plane; the line of greatest inclination of a
        stratum to the horizon.
  
     Line of fire (Mil.), the direction of fire.
  
     Line of force (Physics), any line in a space in which
        forces are acting, so drawn that at every point of the
        line its tangent is the direction of the resultant of all
        the forces. It cuts at right angles every equipotential
        surface which it meets. Specifically (Magnetism), a line
        in proximity to a magnet so drawn that any point in it is
        tangential with the direction of a short compass needle
        held at that point. --Faraday.
  
     Line of life (Palmistry), a line on the inside of the hand,
        curving about the base of the thumb, supposed to indicate,
        by its form or position, the length of a person's life.
  
     Line of lines. See Gunter's line.
  
     Line of march. (Mil.)
         (a) Arrangement of troops for marching.
         (b) Course or direction taken by an army or body of
             troops in marching.
  
     Line of operations, that portion of a theater of war which
        an army passes over in attaining its object. --H. W.
        Halleck.
  
     Line of sight (Firearms), the line which passes through the
        front and rear sight, at any elevation, when they are
        sighted at an object.
  
     Line tub (Naut.), a tub in which the line carried by a
        whaleboat is coiled.
  
     Mason and Dixon's line, Mason-Dixon line, the boundary
        line between Pennsylvania and Maryland, as run before the
        Revolution (1764-1767) by two English astronomers named
        Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon. In an extended sense,
        the line between the free and the slave States; as, below
        the Mason-Dixon line, i.e. in the South.
  
     On the line,
         (a) on a level with the eye of the spectator; -- said of
             a picture, as hung in an exhibition of pictures.
         (b) at risk (dependent upon success) in a contest or
             enterprise; as, the survival of the company is on the
             line in this project.
  
     Right line, a straight line; the shortest line that can be
        drawn between two points.
  
     Ship of the line, formerly, a ship of war large enough to
        have a place in the line of battle; a vessel superior to a
        frigate; usually, a seventy-four, or three-decker; --
        called also line of battle ship or battleship.
        --Totten.
  
     To cross the line, to cross the equator, as a vessel at
        sea.
  
     To give a person line, to allow him more or less liberty
        until it is convenient to stop or check him, like a hooked
        fish that swims away with the line.
  
     Water line (Shipbuilding), the outline of a horizontal
        section of a vessel, as when floating in the water.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 :   [ gcide ]

  Water line \Wa"ter line`\
     1. (Shipbuilding) Any one of certain lines of a vessel,
        model, or plan, parallel with the surface of the water at
        various heights from the keel.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: In a half-breadth plan, the water lines are outward
           curves showing the horizontal form of the ship at their
           several heights; in a sheer plan, they are projected as
           straight horizontal lines.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Naut.) Any one of several lines marked upon the outside
        of a vessel, corresponding with the surface of the water
        when she is afloat on an even keel. The lowest line
        indicates the vessel's proper submergence when not loaded,
        and is called the light water line; the highest, called
        the load water line, indicates her proper submergence
        when loaded.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Water-line model (Shipbuilding), a model of a vessel formed
        of boards which are shaped according to the water lines as
        shown in the plans and laid upon each other to form a
        solid model.
        [1913 Webster]

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) :   [ web1913 ]

  --Totten.
  
     To cross the line, to cross the equator, as a vessel at
        sea.
  
     To give a person line, to allow him more or less liberty
        until it is convenient to stop or check him, like a hooked
        fish that swims away with the line.
  
     Water line (Shipbuilding), the outline of a horizontal
        section of a vessel, as when floating in the water.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) :   [ web1913 ]

  Water line \Wa"ter line`\
     1. (Shipbuilding) Any one of certain lines of a vessel,
        model, or plan, parallel with the surface of the water at
        various heights from the keel.
  
     Note: In a half-breadth plan, the water lines are outward
           curves showing the horizontal form of the ship at their
           several heights; in a sheer plan, they are projected as
           straight horizontal lines.
  
     2. (Naut.) Any one of several lines marked upon the outside
        of a vessel, corresponding with the surface of the water
        when she is afloat on an even keel. The lowest line
        indicates the vessel's proper submergence when not loaded,
        and is called the light water line; the highest, called
        the load water line, indicates her proper submergence
        when loaded.
  
     Water-line model (Shipbuilding), a model of a vessel formed
        of boards which are shaped according to the water lines as
        shown in the plans and laid upon each other to form a
        solid model.

From WordNet (r) 2.0 :   [ wn ]

  water line
       n 1: a line corresponding to the surface of the water when the
            vessel is afloat on an even keel; often painted on the
            hull of a ship [syn: waterline, water level]
       2: a line marking the level reached by a body of water [syn: watermark]

From English Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) :   [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-ALL-2023-07-27 ]

  water line
     alt.
     1 (lb en shipbuilding) the outline of a horizontal section of a
  vessel, as when floating in the water<ref>(R:Webster 1913:
  line)</ref>.
     2 (lb en shipbuilding) Any one of certain lines of a vessel, model,
  or plan, parallel with the surface of the water at various heights from
  the keel. In a half-breadth plan, the water lines are outward curves
  showing the horizontal form of the ship at their several heights; in a
  sheer plan, they are projected as straight horizontal lines.
     3 (lb en nautical) Any one of several lines marked upon the outside
  of a vessel, corresponding with the surface of the water when she is
  afloat on an even keel. The lowest line indicates the vessel's proper
  submergence when not loaded, and is called the light water line; the
  highest, called the load water line, indicates her proper submergence
  when loaded.
     n.
     1 (lb en shipbuilding) the outline of a horizontal section of a
  vessel, as when floating in the water<ref>(R:Webster 1913:
  line)</ref>.
     2 (lb en shipbuilding) Any one of certain lines of a vessel, model,
  or plan, parallel with the surface of the water at various heights from
  the keel. In a half-breadth plan, the water lines are outward curves
  showing the horizontal form of the ship at their several heights; in a
  sheer plan, they are projected as straight horizontal lines.
     3 (lb en nautical) Any one of several lines marked upon the outside
  of a vessel, corresponding with the surface of the water when she is
  afloat on an even keel. The lowest line indicates the vessel's proper
  submergence when not loaded, and is called the light water line; the
  highest, called the load water line, indicates her proper submergence
  when loaded.

From English Wiktionary: English language only (2023-07-27) :   [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-en-2023-07-27 ]

  water line
     alt.
     1 (lb en shipbuilding) the outline of a horizontal section of a
  vessel, as when floating in the water<ref>(R:Webster 1913:
  line)</ref>.
     2 (lb en shipbuilding) Any one of certain lines of a vessel, model,
  or plan, parallel with the surface of the water at various heights from
  the keel. In a half-breadth plan, the water lines are outward curves
  showing the horizontal form of the ship at their several heights; in a
  sheer plan, they are projected as straight horizontal lines.
     3 (lb en nautical) Any one of several lines marked upon the outside
  of a vessel, corresponding with the surface of the water when she is
  afloat on an even keel. The lowest line indicates the vessel's proper
  submergence when not loaded, and is called the light water line; the
  highest, called the load water line, indicates her proper submergence
  when loaded.
     n.
     1 (lb en shipbuilding) the outline of a horizontal section of a
  vessel, as when floating in the water<ref>(R:Webster 1913:
  line)</ref>.
     2 (lb en shipbuilding) Any one of certain lines of a vessel, model,
  or plan, parallel with the surface of the water at various heights from
  the keel. In a half-breadth plan, the water lines are outward curves
  showing the horizontal form of the ship at their several heights; in a
  sheer plan, they are projected as straight horizontal lines.
     3 (lb en nautical) Any one of several lines marked upon the outside
  of a vessel, corresponding with the surface of the water when she is
  afloat on an even keel. The lowest line indicates the vessel's proper
  submergence when not loaded, and is called the light water line; the
  highest, called the load water line, indicates her proper submergence
  when loaded.

From English Wiktionary: Western, Greek, and Slavonic languages only (2023-07-27) :   [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-Western_Greek_Slavonic-2023-07-27 ]

  water line
     alt.
     1 (lb en shipbuilding) the outline of a horizontal section of a
  vessel, as when floating in the water<ref>(R:Webster 1913:
  line)</ref>.
     2 (lb en shipbuilding) Any one of certain lines of a vessel, model,
  or plan, parallel with the surface of the water at various heights from
  the keel. In a half-breadth plan, the water lines are outward curves
  showing the horizontal form of the ship at their several heights; in a
  sheer plan, they are projected as straight horizontal lines.
     3 (lb en nautical) Any one of several lines marked upon the outside
  of a vessel, corresponding with the surface of the water when she is
  afloat on an even keel. The lowest line indicates the vessel's proper
  submergence when not loaded, and is called the light water line; the
  highest, called the load water line, indicates her proper submergence
  when loaded.
     n.
     1 (lb en shipbuilding) the outline of a horizontal section of a
  vessel, as when floating in the water<ref>(R:Webster 1913:
  line)</ref>.
     2 (lb en shipbuilding) Any one of certain lines of a vessel, model,
  or plan, parallel with the surface of the water at various heights from
  the keel. In a half-breadth plan, the water lines are outward curves
  showing the horizontal form of the ship at their several heights; in a
  sheer plan, they are projected as straight horizontal lines.
     3 (lb en nautical) Any one of several lines marked upon the outside
  of a vessel, corresponding with the surface of the water when she is
  afloat on an even keel. The lowest line indicates the vessel's proper
  submergence when not loaded, and is called the light water line; the
  highest, called the load water line, indicates her proper submergence
  when loaded.

From English Wiktionary: Western languages only (2023-07-27) :   [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-Western-2023-07-27 ]

  water line
     alt.
     1 (lb en shipbuilding) the outline of a horizontal section of a
  vessel, as when floating in the water<ref>(R:Webster 1913:
  line)</ref>.
     2 (lb en shipbuilding) Any one of certain lines of a vessel, model,
  or plan, parallel with the surface of the water at various heights from
  the keel. In a half-breadth plan, the water lines are outward curves
  showing the horizontal form of the ship at their several heights; in a
  sheer plan, they are projected as straight horizontal lines.
     3 (lb en nautical) Any one of several lines marked upon the outside
  of a vessel, corresponding with the surface of the water when she is
  afloat on an even keel. The lowest line indicates the vessel's proper
  submergence when not loaded, and is called the light water line; the
  highest, called the load water line, indicates her proper submergence
  when loaded.
     n.
     1 (lb en shipbuilding) the outline of a horizontal section of a
  vessel, as when floating in the water<ref>(R:Webster 1913:
  line)</ref>.
     2 (lb en shipbuilding) Any one of certain lines of a vessel, model,
  or plan, parallel with the surface of the water at various heights from
  the keel. In a half-breadth plan, the water lines are outward curves
  showing the horizontal form of the ship at their several heights; in a
  sheer plan, they are projected as straight horizontal lines.
     3 (lb en nautical) Any one of several lines marked upon the outside
  of a vessel, corresponding with the surface of the water when she is
  afloat on an even keel. The lowest line indicates the vessel's proper
  submergence when not loaded, and is called the light water line; the
  highest, called the load water line, indicates her proper submergence
  when loaded.

From English-Czech dicts.info/FreeDict Dictionary ver. 0.1.3 :   [ freedict:eng-ces ]

  water line /wˈɔːtə lˈaɪn/ 
  ponorná čára

From English - German Ding/FreeDict dictionary ver. 1.9-fd1 :   [ freedict:eng-deu ]

  water line /wˈɔːtə lˈaɪn/
  Wasserlinie  [naut.]
     Synonym: waterline
  
   see: water lines, waterlines
  

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