LIN'EAR, adjective [Latin linearis.] 1. Pertaining to a line; consisting of lines; in a straight direction. 2. In botany, like a line; slender; of the same breadth throughout, except at the extremities; as linear leaf. Linear numbers, in mathematics, such as have relation to length only; such is a number which represents one side of a plane figure. If the plane figure is a square, the linear figure is called a root. Linear problem, that which may be solved geometrically by the intersection of two right lines.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI