Emily Dickinson Lexicon

LIN'E-AL, a. [L. linealis, from linea, line.]

1. Composed of lines; delineated; as, lineal designs. – Wotton.
2. In a direct line from an ancestor; as, lineal descent; lineal succession. – Locke.
3. Hereditary; derived from ancestors. – Shak.
4. Allied by direct descent. For only you are lineal to the throne. – Dryden.
5. In the direction of a line; as, lineal measure. Lineal measure, the measure of length.