line

line · noun, interjection, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European*līno-der.?
2. Proto-Germanic*līną
3. Proto-Germanic*līnǭ
4. Proto-West Germanic*līnā
5. Old Englishlīne
6. Middle Englishline
7. English todayline

From Middle English line, lyne, from Old English līne (“line, cable, rope, hawser, series, row, rule, direction”), from Proto-West Germanic *līnā, from Proto-Germanic *līnǭ (“line, rope, flaxen cord, thread”), from Proto-Germanic *līną (“flax, linen”), from Proto-Indo-European *līno- (“flax”). Influenced in Middle English by Middle French ligne (“line”), from Latin linea. More at linen. The oldest sense of the word is “rope, cord, thread”; from this the senses “path”, “continuous mark” were derived.

line · noun²

1. English · derived fromline
2. Korean · borrowed from라인“members with a shared characteristic”
3. English todayline

Borrowed from Korean 라인 (rain, “members with a shared characteristic”), itself from English line. Likely generalized via hyung line, maknae line, etc.

line · noun, verb³

1. Old English · derived fromlīn“flax, linen, cloth”
2. English todayline

From Old English līn (“flax, linen, cloth”). For more information, see the entry linen.

line · verb⁴

1. Middle French · borrowed fromligner
2. Middle French · borrowed fromligner
3. English todayline

Borrowed from Middle French ligner.

Line · proper noun⁵

From the Middle English surname, derived from the Anglo-Norman suffix -line found in names such as Adeline and Madeline.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from mid-16th c. A more-or-less straight sequence of people, objects, etc., either arranged as a queue or column and often waiting to be processed or dealt with, or arranged abreast of one another in a row (and contrasted with a column), as in a military formation.
• from mid-16th c. Ellipsis of line of battle.
• from late 19th c. A sentence of dialogue, especially in a play, movie, or the like.
• from earlier 17th c. Course of conduct, thought, occupation, or policy; method of argument; department of industry, trade, or intellectual activity.
• from later 19th c. The official, stated position (or set of positions) of an individual or group, particularly a political or religious faction.
• from early 19th c. A set of products or services sold by a business, or by extension, the business itself.