Collinear

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /kəˈlɪn.i.ɚ/

Definitions

1. All points lying in a single straight line are described as having this geometric property
2. The characteristic of multiple points being situated on the same straight line is referred to by this term
3. This term indicates that several points exist on a single straight line in a geometric context

Etymology: "Collinear" is a plain technical coinage: the prefix "col-" (a form of Latin "com-", "together", used before "l") attached to "linear", meaning "in a line". The prefix reflects the same Latin preposition found in words like "collect" and "collaborate", so the whole word literally means "lying together in a line." The adjective "linear" traces back to Latin "linearis", formed from "linea", "line", and "linea" in turn came from "linum", "flax" or "thread", a reminder that early lines were drawn with or felt like strings. English took "linear" as a mathematical and descriptive term, and "collinear" was built from it in the same spirit, as geometry needed a single word for points sharing one straight path.