lien

1 [leen, lee-uhn]
noun
Law. the legal claim of one person upon the property of another person to secure the payment of a debt or the satisfaction of an obligation.

Origin:
1525–35; < Anglo-French, Old French < Latin ligāmen tie, bandage, equivalent to ligā(re) to tie + -men noun suffix of result

lien·a·ble, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged

li·en

2 [lahy-uhn, -en]
noun Anatomy.
the spleen.

Origin:
1645–55; < Latin liēn spleen

li·e·nal [lahy-een-l, lahy-uh-nl] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Lien is a GRE word you need to know.
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reject with disdain
to yearn deeply
Collins
World English Dictionary
lien (ˈliːən, liːn) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
law a right to retain possession of another's property pending discharge of a debt
 
[C16: via Old French from Latin ligāmen bond, from ligāre to bind]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

lien
"right to hold property of another until debt is paid," 1531, from M.Fr. lien, from L. ligamen "bond," from ligare "to bind, tie" (see ligament).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

lien li·en (lī'ən, -ěn')
n.
The spleen.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
lien [(leen, lee-uhn)]

A claim or right given to a creditor to secure payment of a debt, usually by sale of the debtor's property.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
With a reverse mortgage, she said, the lender has a lien against the property.
All lien-related activities are handled through the civil court.
Those who filed liens against the owner before the board filed its lien would have priority.
Now, he confesses, he's broke and has a lien against his home.
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