lien Latin · revision 35690

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus|origins=ine-pro *splǵh-ēn}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈli.eːn]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ˈliː.en]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''liēn''' ''m'' (genitive liēnis); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+ Also ''liēnis, -is'', the usual nominative in Celsus.^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913)

+ The genitive plural is ''liēnum'' or ''liēnium'' in Pliny the Elder.^(OLD 2012)

+ In Plautus the first syllables scan short, ''liĕn, -ĕnis'', unless they are contracted.^(OLD 2012)^(de Vaan 2008)

+ The grammarians Servius and Priscian claim a long ''ē''.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|itc-pro|*liχēn-]], [[inh|ine-pro|*splǵh-ēn|t=spleen]].^(de Vaan 2008) The Indo-European word is distorted in all its descendants, probably through taboo;^(Wiktionary) Italic seems to have replaced the initial cluster of the root for that reason, but the source of the /i/ is unknown.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ Cognate with [[sa|प्लीहन्|tr=plīhán-]], [[ae|spərəzan-]], [[grc|σπλήν|tr=splḗn]], [[xcl|փայծաղն|tr=pʻaycałn]], [[sga|selg]] and [[lt|blužnìs]], all meaning “spleen”.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)^(TLL) Latin later borrowed the Greek word as [[splen|alt=splēn]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is found from Plautus on,^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010) meaning the [[m|en|spleen]]: in the ''Mercator'' a character complains ''seditionem facit lien'', “my spleen is starting a riot”, of a stitch in the side.^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It is the anatomical word for the spleen, often in the sense of a swollen or diseased one:^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Cato writes ''lienes turgent'', “the spleens swell”, and Celsus and Pliny the Elder give remedies to shrink it.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(OLD 2012)

+

+ The emperor Trajan is reported to have called the treasury ''lien'', because when it swells the rest of the body wastes away.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913) Servius wrongly gives it as neuter.^(Georges 1913)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it for the spleen.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of swollen spleens.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 14–37 AD – Celsus uses the nominative ''lienis''.^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder gives remedies for the spleen.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 400 AD – Servius gives it as neuter.^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[m|en|spleen]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # A swollen or diseased spleen.^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(figurative)'' The imperial [[m|en|treasury]], in a saying attributed to Trajan.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[liēnōsus]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[splen|alt=splēn]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The English combining form ''lieno-'', “spleen”, comes from it;^(Etymonline) English ''lien'', “legal claim”, is unrelated and comes through French from [[ligamen|alt=ligāmen]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}