lin·e·ar

[lin-ee-er]
adjective
1.
of, consisting of, or using lines: linear design.
2.
pertaining to or represented by lines: linear dimensions.
3.
extended or arranged in a line: a linear series.
4.
involving measurement in one dimension only; pertaining to length: linear measure.
5.
of or pertaining to the characteristics of a work of art in which forms and rhythms are defined chiefly in terms of line.
6.
having the form of or resembling a line: linear nebulae.
7.
Mathematics.
a.
consisting of, involving, or describable by terms of the first degree.
b.
having the same effect on a sum as on each of the summands: a linear operation.
8.
Electronics. delivering an output that is directly proportional to the input: a linear circuit; a linear amplifier.
9.
threadlike; narrow and elongated: a linear leaf.

Origin:
1635–45; < Latin līneāris of, belonging to lines. See line1, -ar1

lin·e·ar·ly, adverb
non·lin·e·ar, adjective
sub·lin·e·ar, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To linear
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Linear is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
Collins
World English Dictionary
linear (ˈlɪnɪə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  of, in, along, or relating to a line
2.  of or relating to length
3.  resembling, represented by, or consisting of a line or lines
4.  having one dimension
5.  Compare painterly designating a style in the arts, esp painting, that obtains its effects through line rather than colour or light and in which the edges of forms and planes are sharply defined
6.  maths of or relating to the first degree: a linear equation
7.  narrow and having parallel edges: a linear leaf
8.  electronics
 a.  (of a circuit, etc) having an output that is directly proportional to input: linear amplifier
 b.  having components arranged in a line
 
[C17: from Latin līneāris of or by means of lines]
 
linearity
 
n
 
'linearly
 
adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

linear
1640s, from L. linearis "belonging to a line," from linea "string, line" (see line (n.)). Linear A and Linear B (1902-3) were names given to two related forms of linear Minoan writing discovered 1894-1901 in Crete by Sir Arthur Evans. Related: Linearity.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

linear lin·e·ar (lĭn'ē-ər)
adj.
Of, relating to, or resembling a line; straight.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
linear   (lĭn'ē-ər)  Pronunciation Key 
Being or resembling a line.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
The boulders and such inside this plume then fall back to the ground, making
  linear chains of secondary craters.
Most people can't perceive the future beyond linear development of current
  technology.
Which isn't to say his thoughts come out in linear equations.
Jacobs hits another switch and the rocket shoots ahead sharply, powered by a
  linear induction motor.
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