pure line

American  

noun

Genetics.

1. a uniform strain of organisms that is relatively pure genetically because of continued inbreeding and artificial selection.

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pure line British  

noun

1. a breed or strain of animals or plants in which certain characters appear in successive generations as a result of inbreeding or self-fertilization

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Etymology

Origin of pure line

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

Beyond those benefits, Minneopa has become a key in building a genetically pure line of American bison in Minnesota.

From Washington Times • Jan. 7, 2021

“I am more drawn to the plastic, three-dimensional, than to pure line and color,” Nelson Rockefeller said.

From New York Times • May 20, 2016

"It is a rich, multi-cultural, interdisciplinary construction, far from the pure line that its adherents often claim for it."

From BBC • Jun. 19, 2015

It's a nowhere-to-hide passage, and the tension shows in her face, but it's her unflinching attack and high, pure line that you take away.

From The Guardian • Sep. 25, 2010

My cells are no longer the pure line entities I was raised with; they are ecosystems more complex than Jamaica Bay.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas