linear
nounEtymology Borrowed from Latin līneāris, from līnea (“line”) + -āris (adjectival suffix), equivalent to line + -ar. Doublet of lineal.
1
Broadcasting, Media, Radio Abbreviation, Ellipsis, Slang Ellipsis of linear amplifier.
linear
adjUK /ˈlɪn.i.ə/ · US /ˈlɪn.i.əɹ/
Etymology Borrowed from Latin līneāris, from līnea (“line”) + -āris (adjectival suffix), equivalent to line + -ar. Doublet of lineal.
10 senses
- 1Having the form of a line; straight or roughly straight…
- 2Of or relating to lines.
- 3Made, or designed to be used, in a step-by-step…
- 4Long and narrow, with nearly parallel sides.
- 5Having degree one; that is, being of the form…
- 6Involving only linear polynomials. See also Linear…
- 7An additive, homogeneous mapping; that is, a function…
- 8A module homomorphism; that is, a group homomorphism…
- 9A type of length measurement involving only one spatial…
- 10Delivered or delivering on a fixed schedule, as opposed…
1
Having the form of a line; straight or roughly straight; following a direct course.
- The route taken does not have to be a perfectly straight line, just so long as it is linear and is followed consistently for each transect taken.2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 4:
2
Of or relating to lines.
3
Made, or designed to be used, in a step-by-step, sequential manner.
- a linear medium
› (of polynomials or polynomial equations)
5
Mathematics, Sciences Of a polynomial Having degree one; that is, being of the form a_1x_1+a_2x_2+⋯+a_nx_n+b, where each x_i is a variable. See also Linear polynomials on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- 4x#43;5y#43;#92;frac#123;1#125;#123;2#125;z is a linear polynomial, but 4xy#43;#92;frac#123;1#125;#123;2#125;z and 4x#43;z² are not.
6
Mathematics, Sciences Of a polynomial equation Involving only linear polynomials. See also Linear equation on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- The graph of the linear equation y#61;ax#43;b is a straight line with slope a and y-intercept b
› (of functions or maps)
7
Mathematics, Sciences An additive, homogeneous mapping; that is, a function f:V→W is linear if it distributes over vector addition (f( mathbf v+ mathbf w)=f( mathbf v)+f( mathbf w)) and respects scalar multiplication (f(c mathbf v)=cf( mathbf v)). If V and W are vector spaces over a field K, f may also be called a K-linear map. See also linear map on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Of a function between vector spaces
- The map f#58;#92;mathbb#123;R#125;³#92;to#92;mathbb#123;R#125;² taking (x,y,z)#92;mapsto(x#43;y#43;z,x-y#43;3z) is a linear map.
8
Mathematics, Sciences A module homomorphism; that is, a group homomorphism that commutes with scalar multiplication. See also Module homomorphism on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Of a function over a module
9
Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics A type of length measurement involving only one spatial dimension (as opposed to area or volume).
- a linear meter
10
Media Of video and audio Delivered or delivering on a fixed schedule, as opposed to on-demand.
- linear TV, linear content, linear video, linear radio
- Linear television is dead or, at least, declining.
2 more examples
- Linear television includes traditional over-the-air broadcasting, as well as much cable and satellite broadcasting.
- Linear radio relates to our well-known tune-in radio, where the listener depends on the programmers schedule. In non-linear radio applications, the listener is able to choose previously broadcast audio pieces, which are held in local storage of the receiver (“mailbox”).2004, Wolfgang Hoeg, Thomas Lauterbach, editors, Digital Audio Broadcasting: Principles and Applications of Digital Radio, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 186:
- Synonyms
- linelike
- Antonyms
- nonlinear
- Derived terms
95 terms
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