Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “lineament” come from?

Lineament comes from Middle French linéament, a term denoting a distinctive feature or characteristic of the face or body.

lineament (English): Any distinctive shape or line, etc; A distinctive...

Definitions

  1. Any distinctive shape or line, etc; A distinctive...

Ancestry of “lineament”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchlinéament—
2Latinlineamentuma mark, line, stroke; features, lineaments;...
3Latinlīnea—
4Latinlīnum—
5Proto-Italiclīnom—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanlīnomflax
Every word from Proto-Indo-European līnom →