adjective
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being in a direct line of descent from an ancestor
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of, involving, or derived from direct descent
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a less common word for linear
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of lineal
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Late Latin word līneālis. See line 1, -al 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Pace is related to John, Richard and Lineal Pace, brothers who in 1839 contributed $100 of $117,900 needed to endow the university and bring it to Boone County.
From Washington Times • Sep. 21, 2019
Lineal relatives by blood or collateral relatives by blood up to the third degree cannot intermarry; but this does not apply as between an adopted child and his collateral relatives by adoption.
From Marriage and Divorce Laws of the World by Ringrose, Hyacinthe
The Estimate is on the basis of Lineal Feet.
From Practical Mechanics for Boys by Zerbe, James Slough
She was an uncommon woman, with a pushing mind, and exhibited as "The Princess Popocatapetl, Lineal Descendant of Montezuma and Queen of the Caribbeans."
From The Belted Seas by Colton, Arthur Willis
Lineal successor of Inness is Dwight William Tryon, not that his work resembles the older man's, but because both paint the American landscape with a deep personal feeling and with a superb technique.
From American Men of Mind by Stevenson, Burton Egbert
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
