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Glite Dictionary
Mason and Dixon's line

Mason and Dixon's line

8.1
Border between Maryland and Pennsylvania that marks an old divide between North and South
  • noun
  • /ˈmeɪsən ənd ˈdɪksənz laɪn/
  • US
translation icon : la línea de Mason y Dixon
  • Slavery was largely prohibited north of the Mason and Dixon's line before the Civil War.

Examples

  • The survey work that established the Mason and Dixon's line began in the 1760s.

  • Many people still refer to the Mason and Dixon's line when discussing cultural differences between North and South.

  • The Mason and Dixon's line divided the North and South.

  • Many historians discuss Mason and Dixon's line in their books.

  • The Mason and Dixon's line is often cited as a historical boundary marking the divide between Northern and Southern states during the Civil War.

  • Before the Civil War, many families lived on either side of the Mason and Dixon's line, symbolizing the cultural divide in the United States.

  • The establishment of the Mason and Dixon's line helped to define the legal boundaries between Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Synonyms

state line
vsMason and Dixon's line
  • US
37 2.1

A border between two states in the same country

is the specific historic boundary that also symbolizes the North South divide
borderline
vsMason and Dixon's line
9 4.1

A line that shows the edge between two places or countries

is the specific interstate divider charged with historical and regional symbolism
Mason-Dixon line
vsMason and Dixon's line
  • US
1 7.7

A border in the United States between Maryland and Pennsylvania that shows the usual divide between northern and southern states

is the older possessive phrasing rather than the hyphenated modern name
state boundary
vsMason and Dixon's line
1 3.2

An official line that divides two areas in the same country, like New York and New Jersey

is the particular named line with historical symbolic meaning before the Civil War

Surface Forms

Mason and Dixon's line singular

Morphology

Mason + and + Dixon's + line

Partly transparent: the words 'Mason and Dixon's' plus 'line' signal a line associated with two people, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer it refers to a boundary or dividing line. However, the precise historical referent and its symbolic meaning as the North–South divide before the Civil War are culturally specific and cannot be derived from the parts alone, so the expression is not fully transparent.

Etymology

Mason and Dixon's line comes from two men, Mason and Dixon, who in the 1760s walked and measured a straight border between Maryland and Pennsylvania. Over time people used that marked line as a clear 'boundary' and as a way to show differences between the 'North' and the 'South'. So today the name means both the actual border and a symbolic 'dividing line'.