$a_1x_1+a_2x_2+a_3x_3+...+a_nx_n=$ is called a linear equation because it represents the equation of a line in an n dimensional space. So "linear" comes from the word "line".Basically there should not be any higher power of x failing which the graph of the function will not be a straight line.
simillarly
$a(x)y+b(x)y'+c(x)y"+d(x)y'''+...+q(x)=0$ is also called linear differential equation because all the derivatives have power equal to 1 which is similar to the above definition of a linear equation.
A function f is called linear if: $f(x+y)=f(x)+f(y)$ and $f(cx)=cf(x)$. Here c is a constant. In this definition of linearity of function "$f$" what does the word linear means? How does it relate to a straight line?
Finally what does the term linear means in case of linear vector spaces? Where is the reference to a straight line?
So, whether linear is just a word used in different contexts? Does it have different meaning in different situation? Or linearity refers to some relation to a straight line? At Least please explain how the linearity of function f and linear vector space relate to the equation of a line.