line

Everyday

1. A line is a row of people or things one behind another. tree →
2. A line is a long thin mark: «Draw a straight line». tree →
3. A line is a row of words in writing, or the words an actor says. tree →
4. A line is a long string, rope or wire: a washing line, a fishing line. tree →
5. A phone line or a train line is a connection or a route. tree →
6. To line up is to stand in a row. tree →
7. To draw the line somewhere means to decide where to stop, and not go any further. tree →

In the lessons

people standing one behind another, counted from the front; in maths a straight line, a number line, a line of symmetry; phrases: «line up», «in a line», «number line», «straight line», «draw the line»

Examples

• 20 children stand in a line. Anna is the 6th in the line. tree →
• There are 9 people in the line in front of Ben. tree →
• Mia is 4th from the front and 7th from the back. tree →
• Draw a straight line with your ruler. tree →
• Count on the number line from 5 to 9. tree →
• Line up at the door, please. tree →
• Read the first line of the poem. tree →
• Mum hung the washing on the line. tree →
• One ought to draw the line somewhere. tree →

Note

In a line of N, the Kth from the front has K − 1 in front and N − K behind. Kth from the front and Mth from the back: N = K + M − 1. Trap: do not count the person twice. In the UK «queue» is more usual for people waiting; in the USA «line».

In Jewish tradition

In the Torah "mark out your line" means to measure and draw the borders of the Land of Israel. The Writings use line for a builder's measuring cord, and "the lines are fallen unto me" means a portion of land given as an inheritance.

Interpretation. Tradition sees these borders as the boundaries of the land promised to the Israelites, and later rabbis discussed them in rules about which laws apply there. It reads the psalm's "lines" as the good portion God gives each person.

Examples

• And ye shall mark out your line for the east border from Hazar-enan to Shepham; (Torah NUM.34.10, JPS 1917) tree →
• And this shall be your north border: from the Great Sea ye shall mark out your line unto mount Hor; (Torah NUM.34.7, JPS 1917) tree →
• from mount Hor ye shall mark out a line unto the entrance to Hamath; and the goings out of the border shall be at Zedad; (Torah NUM.34.8, JPS 1917) tree →
• Or who stretched the line upon it? (Writings JOB.38.5, JPS 1917) tree →
• The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. (Writings PSA.16.6, JPS 1917) tree →
• Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. (Writings PSA.19.5, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

In a line of N, the Kth from the front has K − 1 in front and N − K behind. Kth from the front and Mth from the back: N = K + M − 1. Trap: do not count the person twice. In the UK «queue» is more usual for people waiting; in the USA «line».