Linears

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A series of elements arranged in a sequential order that follows a straight path
2. having characteristics of a single dimension with proportionality
3. relating to processes that advance in a step-by-step manner without divergence

Etymology: "Linears" is the plural of "linear", used as a noun for things that are linear, a sense that rests on the adjective's older meaning of "consisting of lines." The adjective was borrowed from Latin "līneāris," formed from "līnea" ("line") and the adjectival suffix "-āris," the same suffix that gives English "-ar" in words like "polar" and "regular." So the word is simply "line" with an added adjectival ending, and its core idea of something arranged along a line has stayed intact. "Linear" is a doublet of "lineal," meaning the two words came into English by different routes from the same Latin source and ended up as separate words. "Lineal" has kept the sense of descent in a direct line, as in lineal ancestors, while "linear" took on the broader mathematical and technical sense of a relationship that changes at a constant rate, which is where the idea of stepwise, non-diverging progress comes from.