lien

See also: Lien, lieň, líen, liền, and liên

English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Middle French lien, from Latin ligāmen (“a bond”), from ligō (“tie, bind”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈliːn/, /ˈliːən/
Rhymes: -iːn, -iːən
Homophone: lean (IPA^(key): /liːn/)

Noun

lien (plural liens)

(obsolete) A tendon.
(law) A right to take possession of a debtor’s property as security until a debt or duty is discharged.
- 1989, Greil Marcus, Lipstick Traces, Faber & Faber, published 2009:
  […] every youth movement presents itself as loan to the future, and tries to call in its lien in advance, but when there is no future all loans are canceled.
- 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin 2003, p. 7:
  Bodin deemed the king of France's power as absolute in the sense that the ruler was ‘absolved’ by divine sanction from legally binding liens and restrictions.

Derived terms

lienholder
liensman

Translations

right to take and hold debtor’s property

Afrikaans: retensiereg
Chinese:
Mandarin: 留置權／留置权 (zh) (liúzhìquán)
Czech: zadržovací právo n, retenční právo n
Dutch: retentierecht n
Finnish: panttioikeus, pidätysoikeus; kiinnitys (fi)
French: droit de rétention m
German: Zurückbehaltungsrecht n, Retentionsrecht n
Hungarian: visszatartási jog
Italian: diritto di retenzione m
Japanese: 担保物権 (ja) (たんぽぶっけん, tanpo bukken)
Maori: riena, riana, rīana
Polish: prawo zatrzymania
Portuguese: direito de retenção m
Russian: зало́говое пра́во n (zalógovoje právo), зало́г (ru) m (zalóg)
Serbo-Croatian: pravo zadržaja
Slovak: záložné právo n
Slovene: zastavna pravica f
Spanish: derecho de retención m
Welsh: hawlrwym m

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

Translations to be checked

Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} heftelse
Swedish: ^{(please verify)} lån (sv)

Alternative forms

lyen

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈlaɪən/
Rhymes: -aɪən

Verb

lien

(biblical, archaic) Alternative form of lain
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Genesis 26:10:
  And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done vnto vs? one of the people might lightly haue lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest haue brought guiltinesse vpon vs.”
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Numbers 5:19:
  And the Priest shall charge her by an othe, and say vnto the woman, If no man haue lyen with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to vncleannesse with another in stead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse.

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Latin lien (“spleen”). Doublet of spleen.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈlaɪ.in/, /ˈlaɪ.ən/
Rhymes: -aɪin, -aɪən

Noun

lien (plural lienes)

(uncommon, possibly obsolete) The spleen.
Synonym: milt
- 1892, John Marie Keating, Henry Hamilton, John Chalmers Da Costa, A New Pronouncing Dictionary of Medicine:
  Li'enal. Pertaining to the lien or spleen; splenic.
- 1914, Quain's Elements of Anatomy, volume 1, page 312:
  The lien or spleen (figs. 282 to 285) is a soft, highly vascular contractile and very elastic organ of a dark purplish colour. It is placed obliquely behind the stomach, [...]

Related terms

lienal, lienic

Anagrams

LEIN, LINE, Line, Neil, Niel, Nile, line

Cornish

Etymology

From Middle Cornish lyen, from Proto-Brythonic *lleɣenn, from Latin legendum.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈliːɛn]

Noun

lien m (plural liennow)

literature

French

Etymology

From Middle French lien, from Old French lien, liem, from Latin ligāmen (“bond”), from ligō.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ljɛ̃/
audio (file)

Noun

lien m (plural liens)

link

Derived terms

lien mort

Related terms

lier
relier

Latin

Alternative forms

liēnis m

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *liɣēn-, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)liǵʰ-, from *splǵʰ-ēn- (“spleen”). The -i- remains unexplained.

Cognate with Old Irish selg, Lithuanian blužnis, Ancient Greek σπλήν (splḗn), Old Armenian փայծաղն (pʿaycałn), Avestan 𐬯𐬞𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬰𐬀𐬥-‎ (spər^əzan-), Sanskrit प्लीहन् (plīhán). Doublet of splen.

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈli.eːn/, [ˈlʲieːn]

(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈli.en/, [ˈliːen]

Noun

liēn m (genitive liēnis); third declension

spleen

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	liēn	liēnēs
Genitive	liēnis	liēnum
Dative	liēnī	liēnibus
Accusative	liēnem	liēnēs
Ablative	liēne	liēnibus
Vocative	liēn	liēnēs

References

“lien”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
lien in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette

Latvian

Verb

lien

2nd person singular present indicative form of līst
3rd person singular present indicative form of līst
3rd person plural present indicative form of līst
2nd person singular imperative form of līst
(with the particle lai) 3rd person singular imperative form of līst
(with the particle lai) 3rd person plural imperative form of līst

Livonian

Etymology

Derived from Proto-Finnic *laihna, from a Germanic borrowing. Related to Finnish lainata. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Verb

lien

(Salaca) give a loan

Middle Dutch

Etymology 1

From Old Dutch *līan, from Proto-Germanic [Term?].

Verb

liën

(transitive) to admit
(transitive) to acknowledge, to be convinced
(transitive) to declare
(intransitive) to assent

Inflection

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Etymology 2

From Old Dutch līan, from Proto-West Germanic *līhwan, from Proto-Germanic *līhwaną, from Proto-Indo-European *leykʷ-.

Verb

liën

(eastern) to lend

Inflection

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English liċġan, from Proto-West Germanic *liggjan, from Proto-Germanic *ligjaną.

Alternative forms

lie, li, lin, ligh, liȝ, liȝe, liȝen, lig, lige, ligen, liken, likken, liȝȝe, ligge, liggen, luggen
licgen, liȝge (early)

Verb

lien (third-person singular simple present lith, present participle liende, first-/third-person singular past indicative leie, past participle leien)

to lie (be in a horizontal position)
- c. 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue, lines 19-20:
  Bifil that in that seson, on a day, / In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay
  It happened that, in that season, on a day / In Southwark, at the Tabard, as I lay

Descendants

English: lie, lig
Scots: lie
Yola: lee

References

“līen, v.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

From Old English lēogan, from Proto-West Germanic *leugan, from Proto-Germanic *leuganą.

Verb

lien (third-person singular simple present lieth, present participle liende, first-/third-person singular past indicative legh, past participle louen)

to lie (tell a falsehood)

Alternative forms

li, lie, lin, lighe, lighen, lige, ligen, liȝe, liȝen, liegh, lieȝe, lieȝen, le, lei, leie, leghen, legen, leȝe, leȝen, leiȝe, leiȝen
lih, lihe, lihen, leȝen, leoȝen, leioȝen, luȝen (early)

Descendants

English: lie
Scots: lee
Yola: liest (sg.2)

References

“līen, v.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 3

From Old French lier, liier (“to tie up, connect”), from Latin ligāre (“to tie, bind”).

Verb

lien (third-person singular simple present lieth, present participle liende, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle liid) (cooking)

to thicken (a soup, etc.) by mixing
to bind (ground meat, etc. with eggs, sauce, etc.)
to coat (something with sauce, etc.)

Alternative forms

li, lie

Descendants

English: lye

References

“līen, v.(3).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 4

From Middle French lien (“tie, strap”), from Latin ligāmen (“bandage, band, tie”).

Noun

lien (plural liens)

bond, fetter

Alternative forms

lieine, leine

Descendants

English: lien

References

“līen, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Noun

lien (plural liens)

Alternative form of len

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French lien.

Noun

lien m (plural liens)

tie; strap
(by extension) link (association)

Descendants

French: lien
→ Middle English: lien
- English: lien

Old French

Alternative forms

lïen (diareses not universally used in transcriptions of Old French)

Etymology

From Latin ligāmen.

Noun

lien m (oblique plural liens, nominative singular liens, nominative plural lien)

tie; strap
- late 12th century, anonymous, La Folie de Tristan d'Oxford, page 408 (of the Champion Classiques edition of Le Roman de Tristan, →ISBN, lines 901-2:
  Brenguain, ore alez pur le chen,
  amenez k'od tut le lïen
  Brangain, go get the dog,
  bring it with its leash

Descendants

Middle French: lien
- French: lien
- → Middle English: lien
  - English: lien

Romanian

Etymology

From Latin lien.

Noun

lien n (plural lienuri)

spleen

Declension

Declension of lien

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) lien	lienul	(niște) lienuri	lienurile
genitive/dative	(unui) lien	lienului	(unor) lienuri	lienurilor
vocative	lienule		lienurilor

Swedish

Noun

lien

definite singular of lie.

Anagrams

Elin, ilen

lien

English

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Translations

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Verb

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

Noun

Related terms

Further reading

Anagrams

Cornish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

French

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

Latin

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

References

Latvian

Verb

Livonian

Etymology

Verb

Middle Dutch

Etymology 1

Verb

Inflection

Etymology 2

Verb

Inflection

Further reading

Middle English

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Verb

Descendants

References

Etymology 2

Verb

Alternative forms

Descendants

References

Etymology 3

Verb

Alternative forms

Descendants

References

Etymology 4

Noun

Alternative forms

Descendants

References

Noun

Middle French

Etymology

Noun

Descendants

Old French

Alternative forms

Etymology

Noun

Descendants

Romanian

Etymology