Timelines

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A chronological sequence showing the order and timing of events or dates within a period
2. A visual or textual representation listing events in the exact order they occurred through time
3. A continuous record or plan that arranges significant moments or developments according to when they happened

Etymology: "Timelines" is the plural of "timeline," a noun meaning a chronological record of events. The plural is what most readers meet, since a single timeline is often one of several laid out side by side, as in a textbook showing parallel histories. The noun is a plain compound of "time" and "line." Its meaning follows directly from the picture it builds: events placed along a line in the order they happened, so that the line becomes a way of reading time as distance. The same logic lies behind the everyday phrase "a line of events," which is why the compound needed no special coinage to make sense.

Synonyms: chronologies, schedules, calendars