rectilinear

English

Etymology

From post-Classical Latin; either from rectilīneāris or from rectilīneus (whence rectiline) + -ar, in both cases ultimately deriving from rectus (“straight”) + līnea (“line”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌɹɛktɪˈlɪniɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌɹɛktɪˈlɪnɪə/
• Hyphenation: rec‧ti‧lin‧ear

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

rectilinear (comparative more rectilinear, superlative most rectilinear)

1. In a straight line.

   The crankshaft and connecting rods of an engine convert the rectilinear motion of the pistons to rotary motion of the flywheel.

2. (geometry, art) Formed from straight lines.

Coordinate terms

• circular
• pentangular
• quadrangular
• triangular

Derived terms

• near-rectilinear
• near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO)
• near-rectilinear orbit (NRO)
• rectilinearity
• rectilinearly
• rectilinear orbit

Related terms

• near-rectilineal
• near-rectilineal halo orbit (NRO)
• near-rectilineal orbit (NRO)
• rectangle
• rectangular
• recti-
• rectilineal
• rectilineality
• rectilineally
• rectilineal orbit

Translations

in a straight line

Belarusian: прамаліне́йны (pramalinjéjny) Bulgarian: праволинеен (bg) (pravolineen) Catalan: rectilini Chinese: Mandarin: 沿直线的 (yánzhíxiànde) German: geradlinig (de) Irish: dronlíneach Italian: rettilineo (it) Polish: prostoliniowy Russian: прямолине́йный (ru) (prjamolinéjnyj) Spanish: rectilíneo Swedish: rätlinjig (sv) Ukrainian: прямоліні́йний (prjamoliníjnyj)

Further reading

• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “rectilinear”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “rectilinear”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.