lineament

[ lin-ee-uh-muhnt ]

noun

1. Often lineaments. a feature or detail of a face, body, or figure, considered with respect to its outline or contour:

   His fine lineaments made him the very image of his father.

2. Usually lineaments. distinguishing features; distinctive characteristics:

   the lineaments of sincere repentance.

3. Geology. a linear topographic feature of regional extent that is believed to reflect underlying crustal structure.

lineament

/ ˌlɪnɪəˈmɛntəl; ˈlɪnɪəmənt /

noun

1. a facial outline or feature
2. a distinctive characteristic or feature
3. geology any long natural feature on the surface of the earth, such as a fault, esp as revealed by aerial photography

Derived Forms

• lineamental, adjective

Other Words From

• lin·e·a·men·tal [lin-ee-a-, men, -tl], adjective
• line·a·men·tation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of lineament¹

First recorded in 1450–1500; late Middle English, from Latin līneāmentum “a stroke, line (made with a pen, chalk, etc.)”; plural, “features, drawings,” equivalent to līneā(re) “to reduce to a straight line, draw or trace lines,” (derivative of līnea; line ¹ ) + -mentum -ment

Word History and Origins

Origin of lineament¹

C15: from Latin: line, from līneāre to draw a line

Example Sentences

“A number of faults and lineaments have been mapped in the range, with no known earthquakes on any of them,” says Hubbard.

From National Geographic

He might well be a little shocked at the irregularity of my lineaments, his own being so harmonious.

From Literature

The characters have been flecked with a few human lineaments.

From Los Angeles Times

For the best science fiction and fantasy to use the supernatural to illuminate the lineaments of ordinary oppression, it has to know where those invisible lines are in the first place.

From Salon

After the kids are dropped at school, I take a circuitous route back home, to trace the lineaments of the past in the bricks and pavements of this familiar acre of London.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• aspect
• attribute
• component
• essence
• flavor
• nature
• peculiarity
• personality
• quality
• style
• symptom
• temperament
• tendency
• tone
• virtue