A-line

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length UK trad ¹/₁₂ in = 2.116 7~ mm; elsewhere sometimes ¹/₁₀ inch.

(1) A communications channel. See line card and port.

(2) In text-based systems, a row of characters.

(3) In graphics-based systems, a row of pixels.

The First Lines

This photo, taken at Broadway and Cortlandt Streets in New York in 1883, shows a nation exploding with its first communications. The very same thing is happening today with the Internet, only the infrastructure is not visible. (Image courtesy of AT&T.)

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n. 1. a length of cord, rope, wire, or other material serving a particular purpose: wring the clothes and hang them on the line | a telephone line.

2. a telephone connection: we've got headquarters on the line.

3. a direction, course, or channel: lines of communication | he opened another line of attack.

4. a connected series of military fieldworks or defenses facing an enemy force: raids behind enemy lines.

5. an arrangement of soldiers or ships in a column or line formation; a line of battle.

6. (the line) regular army regiments (as opposed to auxiliary forces or household troops).

in the line of duty while one is working (used mainly of police officers, firefighters, or soldiers).

line of fire the expected path of gunfire or a missile:

residents within line of fire were evacuated from their homes.

line of flight the route taken through the air.

line of march the route taken in marching.

line of sight a straight line along which an observer has unobstructed vision: a building that obstructs our line of sight.

line up

1. arrange a number of people or things in a straight row.

2. (of a number of people or things) be arranged in this way: we would line up across the parade ground.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

In Geographic Information Systems, a line segment with common attributes. By comparison with a link, a line may have intersections.

Narrow ridge, less prominent than a crest, which runs along the shaft of a bone. It is a site of muscle attachment.

n

A boundary; demarcation.

For a list of words related to A-line, see:

• Fashion, Trim, and Sewing - A-line: shape of woman’s skirt, dress, or coat that is narrow at top and flaring to bottom, like letter A

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