When I use a ruler and a pen, is it a line or a rule that I draw? What are the dimensions of the line/rule, length and width, or length and thickness?
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It's probably a line, especially for a math problem. Dimensions are in inches or centimeters, according to the problem. Thicknesses are in fractions of an inch or in mm. I have seen rule for word processing or typesetting. Dimensions are again in inches or centimeters, but thicknesses here are in fractions of points. |
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Classically, (ie mathematically), you would rule a line, which has, of course, neither width nor thickness. (the apparent thickness being experimental error). |
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I agree with others that what you draw with a ruler is a line. The OED gives a straight line drawn on paper; specifically, one of the lines of a stave of music as one of the definitions of rule, but states that such use is now rare. I, too, recall that in geometrical terms, a line has length but no width. |
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In contemporary English, it's a line that you draw, and you'd measure its length and its thickness. Width would be for a two-dimensional figure, like a rectangle. |
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Any line you draw on paper has three dimensions, length, width, and depth (or thickness). One says, "I drew a line using a ruler," "I ruled a line using a straightedge," "I ruled a line with a pen and rule," etc. In vulgar parlance some speak of line thickness when they mean width. In logical terms, and in CAD programs, the measurable dimensions of a drawn line are length and width. Width varies as the pen- or pencil-tip width varies. Thickness is the depth of the line on the drawing surface, typically sub-micrometer, and varies with ink or pencil lead properties, drawing pressure, paper surface qualities, etc. |
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