| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
The conversion of the assets of a firm into cash, often just before the firm goes out of business.
liquidation
discharge of a debt or the determination by agreement or litigation of the amount of a previously unliquidated claim. One important legal meaning is the distribution of the assets of an enterprise among its creditors and proprietors. At the dissolution of a solvent corporation or unincorporated association, the assets are usually liquidated (turned into money) rather than distributed in kind. An insolvent concern, on the other hand, may be liquidated in a receivership (q.v.), in which a court-appointed receiver sells the assets and distributes the proceeds; in general assignments for the benefit of creditors; in bankruptcy; or in the administration of a decedent's estate
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