linen thread

linen thread.

Grammatical information: n.

Meaning: `linen, flax, linen-cloth, (linen) thread, cord, fishing-net' (Il.).

Dialectal forms: Myc. rino \/ linon\/

Compounds: Several compp., e.g. λινο-θώρηξ `with linen cuirass' (Il., AP), λινό-ζωστις f. `mercury, Mercurialis' (Hp., Dsc.; f. from a compound *λινο-ζώσ-της; cf. Strömberg Pflanzennamen 148), λευκό-λινον n. `white flax' (Hdt.).

Derivatives: Diminut.: λινάριον `thread, net' (Delos II<sup>a</sup>., D. Chr.), λινούδιον `linen cloth' (pap.), prob. from τὸ λινοῦν ( ἱμάτιον); also λινούτιον (pap.; cf. below). Adject.: λίνεος, - οῦς, - ός (IA.; λινέα, - αία f. `cord, noose' hell.), λίνινος (Tanagra III<sup>a</sup>) `linen', λιναῖος `id., of flax' (Hp., pap.), λινική f. `flax-taxes' (pap.). Verbs: λινεύω `catch with net' (Peripl. M. Rubr.); further late hypostases: δια-, ἐκ-, ἐπι-λινάω `slip through the net, get away from the net, inspect the net' (Phryn., Eust., H.), ἐκ-λινίζω `get away from the net' (Byz.). On λινεύς = κεστρεύς s. v. - Extensive on compp. and derivv. (also from Middel- and NGr.) Georgacas Dumbarton Oaks Papers 13, 253ff., esp. on λινούδιον, - ούτιον (S. 260ff.).

Origin: PG [a word of Pre-Greek origin]

Etymology: With λίνον with short vowel agree the Balto-Slavic forms, e.g. Lith. linaĩ pl. `flax, linen', Russ. lën, gen. lьná `id.' Opposite is Lat. līnum with long vowel, from where as loans Celt., e.g. OIr. līn `net' and Alb. li-ri, lį-ni `linen'. The Germ. words too, Goth. lein, ONo. OE OHG līn agree with Lat. līnum and are therefore to be considered as loans. Original identity is however possible, as the cultivation of flax in Middle-Europe is very old. It is however more probable that λίνον and līnum derive from a Mediterranean word, which as name of a new type, perhaps together with new techneques of preparation in Northern and Eastern Eeurope replaced local types and their names (e.g. ONo. hǫrr = OHG haro, OE fleax = OHG flahs, Russ. polotnó = CSl. platьno). In Indo-Iranian the word is (but not the idea) unknown. Details with lit. in WP. 2, 440f., Pok. 691, W.-Hofmann s. līnum, Ernout-Meillet s. līnum, Schrader-Nehring Reallex. 1, 323ff. - Fur. 375 cites καὶ λῖνος παρὰ Κυπρίοις H.

See also: S. auch zu λῖτα (s. 2. λίς).

Page in Frisk: 2,125-126

SUBJECT AREA: Textiles

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Early drawing and spinning processes failed to give linen yarn the requisite fineness and homogeneity. In 1810 Napoleon offered a prize of a million francs for a successful flax-spinning machine as part of his policy of stimulating the French textile industries. Spurred on by this offer, Girard suggested three improvements. He was too late to win the prize, but his ideas were patented in England in 1814, although not under his own name. He proposed that the fibres should be soaked in a very hot alkaline solution both before drawing and immediately before they went to the spindles. The actual drawing was to be done by passing the dried material through combs or gills that moved alternately; gill drawing was taken up in England in 1816. His method of wet spinning was never a commercial success, but his processes were adopted in part and developed in Britain and spread to Austria, Poland and France, for his ideas were essentially good and produced a superior product. The successful power-spinning of linen thread from flax depended primarily upon the initial processes of heckling and drawing. The heckling of the bundles or stricks of flax, so as to separate the long fibres of "line" from the shorter ones of "tow", was extremely difficult to mechanize, for each strick had to be combed on both sides in turn and then in the reverse direction. It was to this problem that Girard next turned his attention, inventing a successful machine in 1832 that subsequently was improved in England. The strick was placed between two vertical sheets of combs that moved opposite to each other, depositing the tow upon a revolving cylinder covered with a brush at the bottom of the machine, while the holder from which the strick was suspended moved up and down so as to help the teeth to penetrate deeper into the flax. The tow was removed from the cylinder at the bottom of the machine and taken away to be spun like cotton. The long line fibres were removed from the top of the machine and required further processing if the yarn was to be uniform.

When N.L.Sadi Carnot's book Réflexions sur la puissance motrice du feu, was published in 1824, Girard made a favourable report on it.

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• flax plant

• flaxen

• linen thread

• thread made from fibers of the flax plant

līnĕa ( līnĭa), ae, f. [linum], a linen thread, a string, line.

Lit.:

nectere lineas, restes, funes,

Varr. R. R. 1, 23, 6:

linia longinqua per os religata,

Plin. 9, 17, 26, § 59:

ligato pede longā lineā gallina custoditur,

Col. 8, 11, 15:

linea margaritarum triginta quinque,

Dig. 35, 2, 26; cf.:

lineae duae ex margaritis,

ib. 34, 2, 40; and ib. 9, 2, 27 fin.:

linea dives (of the strings of pearls which were thrown among the people at the public games),

Mart. 8, 78, 7 (cf. Suet. Ner. 11).—

In partic.

In a net, the threads which form the meshes:

licia difficile cernuntur: atque ut in plagis lineae offensae, praecipitant in sinum (of spiders' webs),

Plin. 11, 24, 28, § 82.—

Transf., a net, Plin. 9, 43, 67, § 145:

si feras lineis et pinna clusas contineas,

Sen. Clem. 1, 12, 5.—

A fishing-line:

tremulāve captum lineā trahit piscem,

Mart. 3, 58, 27; 10, 30, 18.—Hence, prov.: mittere lineam, to cast a line, to fish for, try to catch a person, Plaut. Most. 5, 1, 22.—

A plumbline of masons and carpenters:

perpendiculo et lineā uti,

Cic. Q. Fr. 3, 1, 1; cf.:

ad regulam et lineam,

Vitr. 7, 3; 5, 3; Pall. 3, 9.—Hence,

Ad lineam and rectā lineā, in a straight line, vertically, perpendicularly:

solida corpora ferri suo deorsum pondere ad lineam,

Cic. Fin. 1, 6, 18; Plin. 19, 8, 42, § 147;

of the layers of stone in a wall: saxa, quae rectis lineis suos ordines servant,

Caes. B. G. 7, 23:

(ignis) rectis lineis in caelestem locum subvolat,

Cic. Tusc. 1, 17, 40.—

A region, tract:

linea tam rectum mundi ferit illa Leonem,

that region lies directly under the lion, Luc. 10, 306.—

A bowstring, Ter. Maur. praef. v. 19.—

Transf., a thread-like stroke or mark made with a pen, pencil, etc., a line:

Apelli fuit perpetua consuetudo, numquam tam occupatam diem agendi, ut non, lineam ducendo, exerceret artem, quod ab eo in proverbium venit (namely, the proverb: nulla dies sine linea),

Plin. 35, 10, 36, § 84:

lineam cinere ducere,

id. 18, 33, 76, § 327:

candida per medium folium transcurrens,

id. 27, 11, 77, § 102:

serra in praetenui linea premente harenas (of sawing marble),

id. 36, 6, 9, § 51:

nec congruebant ad horas ejus lineae (of the sundial),

id. 7, 60, 60, § 214; Pers. 3, 4.—In geometry, a line: linea a nostris dicitur, quam grammên Graeci nominant. Eam M. Varro ita definit:

Linea est, inquit, longitudo quaedam sine latitudine et altitudine,

Gell. 1, 20, 7:

locorum extremae lineae,

Quint. 1, 10, 39:

lineae, quae emittuntur ex centro,

Plin. 2, 65, 65, § 165; 2, 16, 13, § 64:

linea circumcurrens,

a circular line, circle, Quint. 1, 10, 41.—

In partic.

A boundary-line which consisted of a narrow path between fields, Hyg. de Limit. p. 151; 152 Goes. —

In gen., a way, path:

dedit sequendam calle recto lineam,

Prud. Cath. 7, 48.—

A barrier or line in the theatre, by which the seats were separated from each other:

quid frustra refugis? cogit nos linea jungi,

Ov. Am. 3, 2, 19; id. A. A. 1, 139:

lineas poscere,

Quint. 11, 3, 133.—

A feature, lineament:

adulti venustissimis lineis,

Arn. 5, 179 al. —

Trop.

A line of descent or kindred, lineage (post-class.): stemmata cognationum directo limite in duas lineas separantur, quarum altera est superior, altera inferior, Dig. 38, 10, 9:

clara gentis Linea,

Stat. S. 3, 3, 43:

primo gradu superioris linea continentur pater, mater,

Paul. Sent. 4, 11, 1.—

An outline, sketch, design (a fig. borrowed from painting):

quidam materias latius dicendo prosequebantur... alii, cum primas modo lineas duxissent,

Quint. 2, 6, 2; cf. id. 4, 2, 120: ea quae in Platonis oratione demiramur, non aemulari quidem, sed lineas umbrasque facere ausi sumus, Gell. 17, 20, 8.—

A boundary-line, bound, limit, end, goal:

cum poëtae transilire lineas impune possint,

Varr. L. L. 9, § 5 Müll.; Cassiod. Var. 3, 50:

si quidem est peccare tamquam transire lineas,

to go beyond the mark, pass the prescribed limits, Cic. Par. 3, 1, 20:

mors ultima linea rerum est,

Hor. Ep. 1, 16, 79:

admoveri lineas sentio,

Sen. Ep. 49.—Hence, prov.: amare extremā lineā, to love at a distance, i. e. to see the beloved object only at a distance, not be able to speak to her, Ter. Eun. 4, 2, 12.

līnĕa ( līnĭa), ae, f. [linum], a linen thread, a string, line.

Lit.:

nectere lineas, restes, funes,

Varr. R. R. 1, 23, 6:

linia longinqua per os religata,

Plin. 9, 17, 26, § 59:

ligato pede longā lineā gallina custoditur,

Col. 8, 11, 15:

linea margaritarum triginta quinque,

Dig. 35, 2, 26; cf.:

lineae duae ex margaritis,

ib. 34, 2, 40; and ib. 9, 2, 27 fin.:

linea dives (of the strings of pearls which were thrown among the people at the public games),

Mart. 8, 78, 7 (cf. Suet. Ner. 11).—

In partic.

In a net, the threads which form the meshes:

licia difficile cernuntur: atque ut in plagis lineae offensae, praecipitant in sinum (of spiders' webs),

Plin. 11, 24, 28, § 82.—

Transf., a net, Plin. 9, 43, 67, § 145:

si feras lineis et pinna clusas contineas,

Sen. Clem. 1, 12, 5.—

A fishing-line:

tremulāve captum lineā trahit piscem,

Mart. 3, 58, 27; 10, 30, 18.—Hence, prov.: mittere lineam, to cast a line, to fish for, try to catch a person, Plaut. Most. 5, 1, 22.—

A plumbline of masons and carpenters:

perpendiculo et lineā uti,

Cic. Q. Fr. 3, 1, 1; cf.:

ad regulam et lineam,

Vitr. 7, 3; 5, 3; Pall. 3, 9.—Hence,

Ad lineam and rectā lineā, in a straight line, vertically, perpendicularly:

solida corpora ferri suo deorsum pondere ad lineam,

Cic. Fin. 1, 6, 18; Plin. 19, 8, 42, § 147;

of the layers of stone in a wall: saxa, quae rectis lineis suos ordines servant,

Caes. B. G. 7, 23:

(ignis) rectis lineis in caelestem locum subvolat,

Cic. Tusc. 1, 17, 40.—

A region, tract:

linea tam rectum mundi ferit illa Leonem,

that region lies directly under the lion, Luc. 10, 306.—

A bowstring, Ter. Maur. praef. v. 19.—

Transf., a thread-like stroke or mark made with a pen, pencil, etc., a line:

Apelli fuit perpetua consuetudo, numquam tam occupatam diem agendi, ut non, lineam ducendo, exerceret artem, quod ab eo in proverbium venit (namely, the proverb: nulla dies sine linea),

Plin. 35, 10, 36, § 84:

lineam cinere ducere,

id. 18, 33, 76, § 327:

candida per medium folium transcurrens,

id. 27, 11, 77, § 102:

serra in praetenui linea premente harenas (of sawing marble),

id. 36, 6, 9, § 51:

nec congruebant ad horas ejus lineae (of the sundial),

id. 7, 60, 60, § 214; Pers. 3, 4.—In geometry, a line: linea a nostris dicitur, quam grammên Graeci nominant. Eam M. Varro ita definit:

Linea est, inquit, longitudo quaedam sine latitudine et altitudine,

Gell. 1, 20, 7:

locorum extremae lineae,

Quint. 1, 10, 39:

lineae, quae emittuntur ex centro,

Plin. 2, 65, 65, § 165; 2, 16, 13, § 64:

linea circumcurrens,

a circular line, circle, Quint. 1, 10, 41.—

In partic.

A boundary-line which consisted of a narrow path between fields, Hyg. de Limit. p. 151; 152 Goes. —

In gen., a way, path:

dedit sequendam calle recto lineam,

Prud. Cath. 7, 48.—

A barrier or line in the theatre, by which the seats were separated from each other:

quid frustra refugis? cogit nos linea jungi,

Ov. Am. 3, 2, 19; id. A. A. 1, 139:

lineas poscere,

Quint. 11, 3, 133.—

A feature, lineament:

adulti venustissimis lineis,

Arn. 5, 179 al. —

Trop.

A line of descent or kindred, lineage (post-class.): stemmata cognationum directo limite in duas lineas separantur, quarum altera est superior, altera inferior, Dig. 38, 10, 9:

clara gentis Linea,

Stat. S. 3, 3, 43:

primo gradu superioris linea continentur pater, mater,

Paul. Sent. 4, 11, 1.—

An outline, sketch, design (a fig. borrowed from painting):

quidam materias latius dicendo prosequebantur... alii, cum primas modo lineas duxissent,

Quint. 2, 6, 2; cf. id. 4, 2, 120: ea quae in Platonis oratione demiramur, non aemulari quidem, sed lineas umbrasque facere ausi sumus, Gell. 17, 20, 8.—

A boundary-line, bound, limit, end, goal:

cum poëtae transilire lineas impune possint,

Varr. L. L. 9, § 5 Müll.; Cassiod. Var. 3, 50:

si quidem est peccare tamquam transire lineas,

to go beyond the mark, pass the prescribed limits, Cic. Par. 3, 1, 20:

mors ultima linea rerum est,

Hor. Ep. 1, 16, 79:

admoveri lineas sentio,

Sen. Ep. 49.—Hence, prov.: amare extremā lineā, to love at a distance, i. e. to see the beloved object only at a distance, not be able to speak to her, Ter. Eun. 4, 2, 12.

flaxen yarn/thread, linen thread

〈 bijvoeglijk naamwoord〉

1  flaxen

♦voorbeelden:

1   vlassen garen • flaxen yarn/thread, linen thread

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〈 onovergankelijk werkwoord〉

1 〈+ op〉 be eager for ⇒ have one's eyes on