LIEN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does lien mean? 

• LIEN (noun)
  The noun LIEN has 2 senses:

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

  Familiarity information: LIEN used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LIEN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The right to take another's property if an obligation is not discharged

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Hypernyms ("lien" is a kind of...):

security interest (any interest in a property that secures the payment of an obligation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "lien"):

artisan's lien (lien permitting an artisan to retain possession of a piece of work until has been paid for)

general lien (a lien on all the property owned by a debtor and not just a specific property)

judgment lien (lien on a debtor's property that is granted to a creditor by court judgment; lien may be enforced by having the sheriff seize the property and hold a sheriff's sale)

landlord's lien (lien on a tenant's property for the satisfaction of unpaid rent or property damage; the landlord is given the status of a preferred creditor with regard to the tenant's property)

mechanic's lien (lien to secure payment for work and materials in erecting or repairing a building or other structure)

tax lien (lien of which a tax collector may avail himself in default of taxes (analogous to a judgment lien))

warehouseman's lien (right of a warehouseman to retain goods until all storage charges have been paid)

Sense 2

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

lien; spleen

Hypernyms ("lien" is a kind of...):

lymphatic tissue; lymphoid tissue (tissue making up the lymphatic system)

Meronyms (parts of "lien"):

arteria lienalis; lienal artery; splenic artery (an artery that originates from the celiac trunk and supplies blood to the spleen)

splenic vein; vena lienalis (a vein formed by several small veins on the surface of the spleen; joins the superior mesenteric to form the portal vein)

Holonyms ("lien" is a part of...):

lymphatic system; systema lymphaticum (the interconnected system of spaces and vessels between body tissues and organs by which lymph circulates throughout the body)

Derivation:

lienal (of or relating to the spleen)