Adjacent Words

Lien definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LIEN, the obsolete participle of lie. [See Lain.]
LIEN, n. [supra.] A legal claim; as a lien upon land.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the right to take another's property if an obligation is not discharged
2: a large dark-red oval organ on the left side of the body between the stomach and the diaphragm; produces cells involved in immune responses [syn: spleen, lien]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Anglo-French lien, loyen bond, restraint, from Latin ligamen, from ligare to bind — more at ligature Date: 1531 1. a charge upon real or personal property for the satisfaction of some debt or duty ordinarily arising by operation of law 2. the security interest created by a mortgage

Britannica Concise

In law, a charge or encumbrance on property for the satisfaction of a debt or other duty. Common law developed two kinds of possessory lien: the specific (a lien on the specific property involved in a transaction) and the general (a lien for the satisfaction of a balance due, not confined to a specific property involved in a transaction). Courts of equity may, through the device of the equitable lien, recognize a creditor's interest in a debtor's property. Statutory liens are also available; developers and building contractors, for example, may use their interest in an improved site as security for payment (a mechanic's lien).

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. Law a right over another's property to protect a debt charged on that property. Etymology: F f. OF loien f. L ligamen bond f. ligare bind

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lie Lie, v. i. [imp. Lay (l[=a]); p. p. Lain (l[=a]n), (Lien (l[imac]"[e^]n), Obs.); p. pr. & vb. n. Lying.] [OE. lien, liggen, AS. licgan; akin to D. liggen, OHG. ligen, licken, G. liegen, Icel. liggja, Sw. ligga, Dan. ligge, Goth. ligan, Russ. lejate, L. lectus bed, Gr. le`chos bed, le`xasqai to lie. Cf. Lair, Law, Lay, v. t., Litter, Low, adj.] 1. To rest extended on the ground, a bed, or any support; to be, or to put one's self, in an horizontal position, or nearly so; to be prostate; to be stretched out; -- often with down, when predicated of living creatures; as, the book lies on the table; the snow lies on the roof; he lies in his coffin. The watchful traveler . . . Lay down again, and closed his weary eyes. --Dryden. 2. To be situated; to occupy a certain place; as, Ireland lies west of England; the meadows lie along the river; the ship lay in port. 3. To abide; to remain for a longer or shorter time; to be in a certain state or condition; as, to lie waste; to lie fallow; to lie open; to lie hid; to lie grieving; to lie under one's displeasure; to lie at the mercy of the waves; the paper does not lie smooth on the wall. 4. To be or exist; to belong or pertain; to have an abiding place; to consist; -- with in. Envy lies between beings equal in nature, though unequal in circumstances. --Collier. He that thinks that diversion may not lie in hard labor, forgets the early rising and hard riding of huntsmen. --Locke. 5. To lodge; to sleep. Whiles I was now trifling at home, I saw London, . . . where I lay one night only. --Evelyn. Mr. Quinion lay at our house that night. --Dickens. 6. To be still or quiet, like one lying down to rest. The wind is loud and will not lie. --Shak. 7. (Law) To be sustainable; to be capable of being maintained. ``An appeal lies in this case.'' --Parsons. Note: Through ignorance or carelessness speakers and writers often confuse the forms of the two distinct verbs lay and lie. Lay is a transitive verb, and has for its preterit laid; as, he told me to lay it down, and I laid it down. Lie is intransitive, and has for its preterit lay; as, he told me to lie down, and I lay down. Some persons blunder by using laid for the preterit of lie; as, he told me to lie down, and I laid down. So persons often say incorrectly, the ship laid at anchor; they laid by during the storm; the book was laying on the shelf, etc. It is only necessary to remember, in all such cases, that laid is the preterit of lay, and not of lie. To lie along the shore (Naut.), to coast, keeping land in sight. To lie at the door of, to be imputable to; as, the sin, blame, etc., lies at your door. To lie at the heart, to be an object of affection, desire, or anxiety. --Sir W. Temple. To lie at the mercy of, to be in the power of. To lie by. (a) To remain with; to be at hand; as, he has the manuscript lying by him. (b) To rest; to intermit labor; as, we lay by during the heat of the day. To lie hard or heavy, to press or weigh; to bear hard. To lie in, to be in childbed; to bring forth young. To lie in one, to be in the power of; to belong to. ``As much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.'' --Rom. xii. 18. To lie in the way, to be an obstacle or impediment. To lie in wait, to wait in concealment; to lie in ambush. To lie on or upon. (a) To depend on; as, his life lies on the result. (b) To bear, rest, press, or weigh on. To lie low, to remain in concealment or inactive. [Slang] To lie on hand, To lie on one's hands, to remain unsold or unused; as, the goods are still lying on his hands; they have too much time lying on their hands. To lie on the head of, to be imputed to. What he gets more of her than sharp words, let it lie on my head. --Shak. To lie over. (a) To remain unpaid after the time when payment is due, as a note in bank. (b) To be deferred to some future occasion, as a resolution in a public deliberative body. To lie to (Naut.), to stop or delay; especially, to head as near the wind as possible as being the position of greatest safety in a gale; -- said of a ship. Cf. To bring to, under Bring. To lie under, to be subject to; to suffer; to be oppressed by. To lie with. (a) To lodge or sleep with. (b) To have sexual intercourse with. (c) To belong to; as, it lies with you to make amends.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lien Li"en (l[imac]"[e^]n), obs. p. p. of Lie. See Lain. --Ps. lxviii. 13.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lien Lien (l[=e]n or l[imac]"[e^]n; 277), n. [F. lien band, bond, tie, fr. L. ligamen, fr. ligare to bind. Cf. League a union, Leam a string, Leamer, Ligament.] (Law) A legal claim; a charge upon real or personal property for the satisfaction of some debt or duty; a right in one to control or hold and retain the property of another until some claim of the former is paid or satisfied.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Floating charge Floating charge, lien lien, etc. (Law) A charge, lien, etc., that successively attaches to such assets as a person may have from time to time, leaving him more or less free to dispose of or encumber them as if no such charge or lien existed.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Legal claim.

Moby Thesaurus

adjustment mortgage, antichresis, blanket mortgage, bottomry, bottomry bond, chattel mortgage, closed mortgage, common-law lien, dead pledge, deed of trust, first mortgage, general lien, hypothec, hypothecation, installment mortgage, judgment lien, leasehold mortgage, living pledge, mortgage, mortgage bond, mortgage deed, mortuum vadium, participating mortgage, particular lien, pignus judiciale, pignus legale, second mortgage, security agreement, statutory lien, tax lien, third mortgage, trust mortgage, vadium mortuum, vadium vivum