This week’s theme
Miscellaneous words

This week’s words
narcissism
lien
vitriol
precarious
demagogue

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(leen, LEE-uhn)

MEANING:

noun: A claim on another’s property until a debt owed by that person is paid back.

ETYMOLOGY:

From French lien (bond, tie), from Latin ligamen (bond, tie), from ligare (to bind). Ultimately from the Indo-European root leig- (to bind), which also gave us league, ligament, ligature, ally, alloy, rally, liaison, religion, rely, oblige, and furl. Earliest documented use: 1530.

USAGE:

“At least 60 lawsuits, along with hundreds of liens, judgments, and other government filings reviewed by the USA Today Network, document people who have accused Trump and his businesses of failing to pay them for their work. Among them: a dishwasher in Florida. A glass company in New Jersey. A carpet company. A plumber. Painters. Forty-eight waiters. Dozens of bartenders and other hourly workers at his resorts and clubs, coast to coast. Real estate brokers who sold his properties. And, ironically, several law firms that once represented him in these suits and others.”
Steve Reilly; Hundreds Allege Donald Trump Doesn’t Pay His Bills; USA Today (Washington, DC); Jun 9, 2016.

In His Own Words:
“I like money. I’m very greedy. I’m a greedy person. I shouldn’t tell you that, I’m a greedy -- I’ve always been greedy. I love money, right?”
-Donald Trump (reference)

See more usage examples of lien in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: