line (subs.) Copy link Outline I. GeometricalII. Uniform directionIII. A limitIV. A cordV. Of a poem or other bookVI. Meton. = wordsVII. In military senseVIII. GenealogicalIX. Of a ship • line (subs.): I. Geometrical: līnea: a l. is length without breadth, l. est longitudo sine latitudine, Front. Goes. p. 31: a right or curved l., l. recta, flexuosa, ib. p. 32: to be carried downwards in a straight l., ferri deorsum ad l., Cic. Fin. 1, 6, 18: Vitr.: to draw a l., l. ducere, Quint. 2, 6, 2; l. scribere, Cic. Tusc. 5, 39, 113 (but the former expr. is more usual); l. deducere, Plin. II. Uniform direction: rĕgio, ōnis, f.: to turn aside from the straight l. (fig.), de recta regione deflectere, Cic. Verr. 5, 68, 176: to get beyond the l. of the camp, r. castrorum superare, Caes. B. C. 1, 69. (N.B.--Cic. has e regione, absol. = in a straight l., Fat. 9, 18: but e regione foll. by gen. = right over against.) Phr.: in a l. (with), in versum, Virg. G. 4, 144; *recto ordine, rectâ lineâ, ad lineam (Kr.): cf. supr. (I.). III. A limit: mŏdus, fīnis: v. bound. IV. A cord: līnea (primary sense of the word): a long l., l. longa, Col.; l. longinqua, Plin. V. Of a poem or other book: versus, ūs: Cic. Att. 2, 16, 3: to count l.s and syllables (of a letter), v. syllabasque numerare, Plin. Ep. 4, 11, extr. VI. Meton. = words: esp. in phr., a few l.s, to drop a l.: Phr.: I will write a few l.s in reply to your letter, pauca ad tuas litteras rescribam, cf. Cic. Att. 1, 10, 1: I have not had a single l. from you, nullas a vobis acceperam (litteras), ib. 3, 31: I have scarcely time for so hasty a l. as this, vix huic tantulae epistolae tempus habebam, ib. 1, 14, 1: drop me a l. about it, fac ut sciam, ib. 2, 6, extr.: I dropped him a l. to say ..., cui ego scripsi (with acc. and inf.), ib. 7, 3, extr. (N.B.--Versus, pl. may be used with ref. to certain lines or parts of a letter: e. g. primis versibus, in the first few l.s of a letter, Cic. Att. 2, 16, 3: but never to denote a letter as a whole.) VII. In military sense: (i). of an army drawn up: (1). ăcies, ēi: the hastati formed the front l., prima a. hastati erant, Liv. 8, 8: to draw up an army in three l.s, triplicem a. instruere, Caes. B. G. 1, 51: the rear l., a. novissima, extrema, Liv. 8, 10. (2). the front l., princĭpia, orum: Liv. l. c.: immediately in the rear of the front l., post p., Sall. Jug. 50: Tac. (3). frons, ntis, f. (the entire front as a military disposition: principia denotes the fighting men in the front): to advance in even l., aequa f. procedere, Liv. 36, 44. Phr.: to form in l. of battle (of troops), ordinatos consistere, Nep. Iph. 2; explicare ordinem (of ships), Liv. 37, 29 (v. to deploy): to form ships in l., naves suo quamque ordine in frontem instruere, Liv. l. c. (v. to draw up, III.; order). (ii). usu. pl., military works, entrenchments: mūnītiones, Caes. B. C. 3, 62, sqq.: also munimenta, orum: v. intrenchment. Phr.: to be within the l.s, i. e. be with the army, in praesidiis esse, Cic. Lig. 9, 28; also intra praesidia esse, Liv. 38, 11. (iii). of march: agmen, ĭnis, n.: they closed the l. of march, i. e. brought up the rear, agmen claudebant, Caes. B. G. 1, 25. So of ships: the king's fleet advancing in a long l., regia classis longo a. veniens, Liv. 37, 29. VIII. Genealogical: līnea: cf. Paul. Dig. 38, 10, 9, στέμματα cognationum directo limite in duas lineas separantur: the ascending, descending l., l. superior, inferior, ib.: indirect or collateral l. of descent, transversa l., ib.: direct l., ascending or descending, recta l. sursum versum vel deorsum tendentium, ib. 38, 10, 10 § 9. See also side. IX. Of a ship: only pl.: Phr.: to lay down the l.s of a ship well, bene lineatam carinam collocare, Pl. Mil. 3, 3, 42 (see the place).