Rectilineal

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Consisting of or bounded by straight lines; characterized by movement or extension in a straight direction
2. Being made up solely of straight lines
3. Made up exclusively of straight segments or edges ; proceeding directly along a straight path without deviation

Etymology: "Rectilineal" is simply a compound built from two Latin-derived parts: "rectus", meaning straight or upright, and "lineal", meaning of or consisting of lines. The first element, "recti-", is the combining form that Latin "rectus" takes when it joins another word, so the whole term literally means "straight-lined." The word is essentially a descriptive coinage: English speakers took the two familiar parts and joined them to name a plain geometric idea, something made only of straight lines. Because "lineal" already meant "consisting of lines" in English, the compound needed no special sense of its own. Its meaning is therefore exactly what its parts say, with no shift from an earlier sense.

Synonyms: linear