Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun, plural lines·men.
- Sports.
- an official, as in tennis and soccer, who assists the referee.
- Football.an official who marks the distances gained and lost in the progress of play and otherwise assists the referee and field judge.
- Ice Hockey.either of two officials who assist the referee by watching for icing, offside, and substitution violations and fouls and by conducting face-offs.
- lineman(def 1).
noun plural -men
- an official who helps the referee or umpire in various sports, esp by indicating when the ball has gone out of play
- mainly British a person who installs, maintains, or repairs telephone or electric-power linesUS and Canadian name: lineman
1856, “soldier in a regiment of the line,” from genitive of line (n.) + man (n.). Sports sense, in reference to umpires with specific duties in games with lines (originally tennis, also ice hockey) is from 1890.