noun · masculinethird declension
liēn
liēn m (genitive liēnis)
Classical[ˈli.eːn]Ecclesiastical[ˈliː.en]
Meaning
- spleen (a ductless vascular gland)
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | liēn | liēnēs |
| genitive | liēnis | liēnum |
| dative | liēnī | liēnibus |
| accusative | liēnem | liēnēs |
| ablative | liēne | liēnibus |
| vocative | liēn | liēnēs |
lĭēn, ēnis, and liēnis, is, m. (
I. gen. plur. lienum, Plin. 23, 7, 63, § 121) [for plien; Sanscr. plīhan; Gr. σπλήν], the milt or spleen.
I. Lit.:
lienes turgent, Cato. R. R. 157: seditionem facit lien (of a stitch in the side), Plaut. Merc. 1, 2, 14: jam quasi sona liene cinctus ambulo, id. Curc. 2, 1, 6: equisetum lienes cursorum exstinguit, Plin. 26, 13, 83, § 132: at lienis, ubi affectus est, intumescit, Cels. 4, 9: lienis bubulus, id. ib.: lienem coërcere, id. ib.: extenuare, id. ib.: consumere, Plin. 26, 8, 48, § 76.—II. Transf., of the fiscus:
(Trajanus) fiscum lienem vocavit, quod eo crescente artus reliqui tabescunt, Aur. Vict. Epit. 42 fin.Origins
Inherited from Proto-Indo-European, reflecting a form *(s)li(ǵʰ)-ēn-, from the root *spelǵʰ- (“spleen”), heavily distorted in all of its descendants, likely for tabooistic reasons, making the exact original PIE form hard to pin down. The newly introduced -i- is seemingly also found in the Sanskrit cognate प्लीहन् (plīhán), the fall of *-h- < *-ǵʰ- is also observed in Ancient Greek σπλήν (splḗn), while the loss of *-p- is also visible in Proto-Slavic *selzenь. Other cognates include Middle Irish selg, Lithuanian blužnis, Old Armenian փայծաղն (pʻaycałn), Avestan 𐬯𐬞𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬰𐬀𐬥- (spər^əzan-). Doublet of splēn.
Descendants
- Englishlien
- Englishlieno-
- Englishlienal
- Englishlienic
- Italianliene
- Romanianlien
- Esperantolieno
- Indonesianlien