the.com/line segment
A line that gave up infinity for a start and an end.
means A straight path between two specific points, including both endpoints, with a fixed, measurable length — unlike a full line, it doesn't run forever in either direction.
from From 'line,' tracing back to Latin 'linea' (a linen thread, hence a string or line, from 'linum,' flax), plus 'segment,' from Latin 'segmentum' — a piece cut off, from 'secare,' to cut. So the phrase is literally a 'cut piece of a line': geometry's way of saying someone took shears to infinity and kept only the part between two marks.
- definition
- Two endpoints plus everything straight between them
- vs line
- Lines never end; segments know when to stop
- vs ray
- A ray only commits to stopping once
- measurable
- Has actual length, unlike its infinite relatives