liaison

[ lee-ey-zawn, lee-uh-zon, -zuhnor, often, ley-; lee-ey-zuhn, -zon; French lye-zawn ]

noun

, plural li·ai·sons [lee-ey-, zawnz, lee, -, uh, -zonz, -z, uh, nz, ley, -, lee-, ey, -z, uh, nz, -zonz, lye-, zawn].

1. the contact or connection maintained by communications between units of the armed forces or of any other organization in order to ensure concerted action, cooperation, etc.
2. a person who initiates and maintains such a contact or connection.
3. an illicit sexual relationship.
4. Cooking. the process of thickening sauces, soups, etc., as by the addition of eggs, cream, butter, or flour.
5. Phonetics. a speech-sound redistribution, occurring especially in French, in which an otherwise silent final consonant is articulated as the initial sound of a following syllable that begins with a vowel or with a silent h, as the z- and n- sounds in Je suis un homme [zh, uh, sweez, œ, -, nawm].

liaison

/ lɪˈeɪzɒn /

noun

1. communication and contact between groups or units
2. modifier of or relating to liaison between groups or units

   a liaison officer

3. a secretive or adulterous sexual relationship
4. one who acts as an agent between parties; intermediary
5. the relationship between military units necessary to ensure unity of purpose
6. (in the phonology of several languages, esp French) the pronunciation of a normally silent consonant at the end of a word immediately before another word commencing with a vowel, in such a way that the consonant is taken over as the initial sound of the following word. Liaison is seen between French ils (il) and ont ( ɔ̃ ), to give ils ont ( il zɔ̃ )
7. any thickening for soups, sauces, etc, such as egg yolks or cream

Word History and Origins

Origin of liaison¹

First recorded in 1640–50; from French, Old French, from Latin ligātiōn-, stem of ligātiō “a binding”; ligation

Word History and Origins

Origin of liaison¹

C17: via French from Old French, from lier to bind, from Latin ligāre

Related Words

• communication
• contact
• intermediary