Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “lien” come from?

Lien comes from Latin lien, derived from Latin ligamen, meaning "that which binds," from Latin ligo, meaning "to bind."

lien (English): A tendon; A right to take possession of a...

Definitions

  1. A tendon; A right to take possession of a...

Ancestry of “lien”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchlientie; strap; link
2Old Frenchlientie; strap
3Latinligāmen—
4Dutchligament—
5Latinligāmentum—
6Latin-mentuminstrument, medium, or result of; e.g....
7Latin-mentanominative plural of -mentum; accusative plural...
8Proto-Indo-European-mn̥Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs

Words derived from “lien”

  • lienholder
  • lienor
  • lienable
  • gastrolienal
  • lienal
  • nonlienable
  • unlienable
  • lienholding
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -mn̥ →