outline

English

Etymology

Fromout+‎line.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):/ˈaʊtlaɪn/

• Audio(US):

  (file)

Noun

outline(pluraloutlines)

1. Alinemarking theboundaryof anobjectfigure.
2. The outershapeof an object or figure.
   • 1950March, H. A. Vallance, “On Foot Across the Forth Bridge”, inRailway Magazine,page149:

     From this point of vantage, we were able to gain an impression of the massiveoutlinesof the main structure, and its intricate maze of girders.

3. Asketchordrawingin whichobjectsaredelineatedincontourswithoutshading.
   • 1695,C[harles] A[lphonse] du Fresnoy,translated byJohn Dryden,De Arte Graphica. The Art of Painting,[…],London:[…]J[ohn]Heptinstall for W. Rogers,[…],→OCLC:

     Painters, by theiroutlines,colours, lights, and shadows, represent the same in their pictures.

4. Ageneraldescriptionof some subject.
5. Astatementsummarizingtheimportantpoints of atext.
6. Apreliminaryplanfor aproject.

   theoutlineof a speech

7. (film)Aprosetellingof astoryintended to be turned into ascreenplay;generallylongerand moredetailedthan atreatment.
8. (fishing)Asetlineortrotline.

Translations

line marking the boundary of an object figure

• Bulgarian:очертание(bg)n(očertanie),контур(bg)m(kontur)
• Catalan:contorn(ca)m
• Czech:obrysm
• Finnish:ääriviiva(fi)
• French:contour(fr)m
• German:Umriss(de)m,Kontur(de)
• Hebrew:קו מתארm
• Hungarian:körvonal(hu)
• Icelandic:útlínurfpl
• Italian:contorno(it)
• Japanese:(type of lettering form)Trung rút き(ja)(uwatsuki)
• Latin:adumbrātiōf
• Maori:hua(mi)
• Occitan:contorn(oc)m
• Portuguese:contorno(pt)m
• Romanian:contur(ro)n
• Russian:ко́нтур(ru)m(kóntur),очерта́ние(ru)n(očertánije)
• Spanish:contorno(es)
• Swedish:kontur(sv)c,kantlinjec
• Tagalog:balangkas

outer shape of an object or figure

• Catalan:siluetaf
• Chinese:

  Mandarin:Hình dáng／Hình dáng(zh)(lúnkuò)

• Dutch:omtrek(nl)
• Finnish:ääriviiva(fi)
• French:silhouette(fr)f
• German:Umriss(de)m
• Hungarian:körvonal(hu)
• Italian:contorno(it)
• Japanese:Ngoại hình(ja)(gaikei),Luân quách(ja)(rinkaku)(in drawing art)
• Maori:hua(mi)
• Polish:kontur(pl)m
• Portuguese:contorno(pt)m
• Romanian:contur(ro)n
• Russian:ко́нтур(ru)m(kóntur),очерта́ние(ru)n(očertánije)
• Spanish:contorno(es)
• Tagalog:balangkas

sketch or drawing in which objects are delineated in contours without shading

• Bulgarian:скица(bg)f(skica)
• Catalan:esbós(ca)m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin:Hình dáng／Hình dáng(zh)(lúnkuò)

• Finnish:ääriviivapiirros
• French:esquisse(fr)f
• German:Skizze(de)f,Skizzierungf,Umrisszeichnungf,Konturenzeichnungf
• Hungarian:vázlat(hu)
• Italian:sagoma(it)f
• Japanese:Luân quách miêu tả(rinkaku-byōsha)
• Maori:hua(mi)
• Polish:kontur(pl)m
• Portuguese:esboço(pt)m
• Romanian:schiță(ro)f
• Russian:набро́сок(ru)m(nabrósok)
• Spanish:esbozo(es)m
• Tagalog:balangkas

general description of some subject

• Bulgarian:схема(bg)f(shema)
• Catalan:visió general
• Finnish:yleiskuvaus
• French:aperçu(fr)m
• German:Beschreibung(de)f
• Greek:

  Ancient:περιγραφήf(perigraphḗ)

• Italian:descrizione(it)f
• Japanese:Tóm tắt(ja)(gairyaku),Điểm chính(ja)(gaiyō)
• Persian:شمای کلی
• Portuguese:resumo(pt)m
• Scots:ootline
• Tagalog:balangkas

statement summarizing the important points of a text

• Catalan:resum(ca)m
• Finnish:yhteenveto(fi)
• French:résumé(fr)m
• German:Zusammenfassung(de)f
• Hebrew:תמצית(he)f
• Italian:sunto(it)m
• Japanese:Ý nghĩa chính(ja)(shushi),Ý chính(ja)(yōshi)
• Polish:konspekt(pl)m
• Portuguese:resumo(pt)m,sinopse(pt)f
• Spanish:resumen(es)m
• Tagalog:balangkas

preliminary plan of a project

• Bulgarian:план(bg)m(plan),проект(bg)m(proekt)
• Catalan:esborrany(ca)m
• Finnish:hahmotelma(fi),suuntaviivatpl
• French:ébauche(fr)f
• German:Entwurf(de)m
• Hebrew:מתארm,תוואיm
• Hungarian:körvonal(hu)
• Italian:bozza(it)f
• Japanese:Điểm chính(ja)(gaiyō)
• Polish:szkic(pl)m,zarys(pl)m,abrys(pl)m
• Portuguese:esboço(pt)m
• Tagalog:balangkas

(film industry) a prose telling of a story intended to be turned into a screenplay

• Finnish:juoni(fi)
• French:synopsis(fr)morf
• Japanese:あらまし(ja)(aramashi),Hoang gân(あらすじ,arasuji),Thô gân(ja)(あらすじ,arasuji)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions atWiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Irish:^{(pleaseverify)}imchruthm

See also

• silhouette

Verb

outline(third-person singular simple presentoutlines,present participleoutlining,simple past and past participleoutlined)

1. (transitive)Todrawan outline of.
   • 1963,Margery Allingham,“Foreword”, inThe China Governess: A Mystery,London:Chatto & Windus,→OCLC:

     He stood transfixed before the unaccustomed view of London at night time, a vast panorama which reminded him[…]of some wood engravings far off and magical, in a printshop in his childhood. They dated from the previous century and were coarsely printed on tinted paper, with tinseloutliningthe design.

3. (transitive)Tosummarize.

   Wikipedia items featuring books usuallyoutlinethem after giving their background.

   • 1907August,Robert W[illiam] Chambers,chapter VIII, inThe Younger Set,New York, N.Y.:D. Appleton & Company,→OCLC:

     At her invitation heoutlinedfor her the succeeding chapters with terse military accuracy ; and what she liked best and best understood was avoidance of that false modesty which condescends, turning technicality into pabulum.

5. (transitive,softwarecompilation)Tooptimizefor size by replacing repeated code fragments withfunctioncalls.

   Synonym:reverseinline

   Coordinate term:inline

Translations

to draw an outline of something

• Arabic:لَخَّصَ(laḵḵaṣa),اِخْتَصَرَ(ar)(iḵtaṣara)
• Bulgarian:скицирам(bg)(skiciram)
• Catalan:perfilar(ca)
• Finnish:hahmotella(fi)
• French:entourer(fr)
• German:umreißen(de)
• Greek:

  Ancient:περιγράφω(perigráphō)

• Hungarian:körvonalaz(hu)
• Italian:contornare(it),delineare(it)
• Maori:huahua
• Polish:obrysowywaćimpf,obrysowaćpf
• Russian:обрисо́вывать(ru)impf(obrisóvyvatʹ),обрисова́ть(ru)pf(obrisovátʹ),оче́рчивать(ru)impf(očérčivatʹ),очерти́ть(ru)pf(očertítʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:konturirati,ocrtati(sh)
• Spanish:delinear(es)
• Ukrainian:обрисо́вуватиimpf(obrysóvuvaty),обрисува́тиpf(obrysuváty),окре́слюватиimpf(okrésljuvaty),окре́слитиpf(okréslyty)

to summarize something

• Bulgarian:очертавам(bg)(očertavam)
• Catalan:resumir(ca)
• Finnish:vetää yhteen
• German:zusammenfassen(de)
• Hungarian:körvonalaz(hu)
• Italian:riassumere(it),illustrare(it)
• Russian:опи́сывать(ru)impf(opísyvatʹ),описа́ть(ru)pf(opisátʹ)(в общих чертах - v óbščix čertáx)
• Serbo-Croatian:opisati(sh)
• Spanish:resumir(es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions atWiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French:^{(pleaseverify)}esquisser(fr)(1),^{(pleaseverify)}résumer(fr)(2)

Anagrams

• elution,line out,line-out,lineout