ortholinear

Adjective

ortholinear (not comparable)

1. Of a keyboard, having keys that are aligned in a perfect grid.
2. Having all turns occurring at right angles.
   • In the human fetus as well as in the eye of the infant a delicate ortholinear central canal was similarly in evidence; however, the canal could not be demonstrated in the eye of adult humans.1967, Karl Hruby, Adolph Posner, Slitlamp Examination of Vitreous and Retina, page 30
   • The course of the fistula was ortholinear and caudally directed.1971, Excerpta Medica: Pediatrics - Volume 25, page 341
3. Forming a line when plotted on a set of orthogonal axes.
   • Then it must be borne in mind that Binet's original scale was in terms of years and months, but it yielded no ortholinear values so that score differences could be seen at a glance for the purpose of comparison.1964, Abraham Aaron Roback, History of American Psychology, page 460
   • As is known in seismology , the magnitude frequency relation of earthquakes is ortholinear on a bilogarithmical scale and is characterized by the angle coefficient y.1967, Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, page 65
4. Defining progress as one-dimensional, so that change is either a progression, a regression, or a neutral step to the side.
   • Besides, the facts not only do not require, they do not warrant, the Hegelian hypothesis of an ortholinear progressive development in the whole history of humanity.1906, The Decennial Publications of the University of Chicago, page 263
   • This rather ortholinear view of development is widely held, and it is, of course, widely believed to be in harmony with the evolutionary facts.1976, Mary E. Ragland, Ellie Ragland-Sullivan, Rabelais and Panurge, page 93
5. Moving in one direction, in which each step leads to the next.
   • A precise chronological structure and a rigorous spatial order form the foundation of the text's ortholinear narration.1994, Eva Martin Sartori, Dorothy Wynne Zimmerman, French Women Writers, page 427
   • Parayil (1999), therefore, argued that technological transition may best be described as an ortholinear or directional variation, characterised by a selective retention process adapted to a sequential process of variation and selection, while Dosi (1982: 161) concluded that "technological paradigms...2007, Geoffrey Alan Wilson, Multifunctional Agriculture: A Transition Theory Perspective, page 50