Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Lie \Lie\, v. i. [imp. {Lay} (l[=a]); p. p. {Lain} (l[=a]n),
   ({Lien} (l[imac]"[e^]n), Obs.); p. pr. & vb. n. {Lying}.]
   [OE. lien, liggen, AS. licgan; akin to D. liggen, OHG. ligen,
   licken, G. liegen, Icel. liggja, Sw. ligga, Dan. ligge, Goth.
   ligan, Russ. lejate, L. lectus bed, Gr. le`chos bed,
   le`xasqai to lie. Cf. {Lair}, {Law}, {Lay}, v. t., {Litter},
   {Low}, adj.]
   1. To rest extended on the ground, a bed, or any support; to
      be, or to put one's self, in an horizontal position, or
      nearly so; to be prostate; to be stretched out; -- often
      with down, when predicated of living creatures; as, the
      book lies on the table; the snow lies on the roof; he lies
      in his coffin.

            The watchful traveler . . . Lay down again, and
            closed his weary eyes.                --Dryden.

   2. To be situated; to occupy a certain place; as, Ireland
      lies west of England; the meadows lie along the river; the
      ship lay in port.

   3. To abide; to remain for a longer or shorter time; to be in
      a certain state or condition; as, to lie waste; to lie
      fallow; to lie open; to lie hid; to lie grieving; to lie
      under one's displeasure; to lie at the mercy of the waves;
      the paper does not lie smooth on the wall.

   4. To be or exist; to belong or pertain; to have an abiding
      place; to consist; -- with in.

            Envy lies between beings equal in nature, though
            unequal in circumstances.             --Collier.

            He that thinks that diversion may not lie in hard
            labor, forgets the early rising and hard riding of
            huntsmen.                             --Locke.

   5. To lodge; to sleep.

            Whiles I was now trifling at home, I saw London, . .
            . where I lay one night only.         --Evelyn.

            Mr. Quinion lay at our house that night. --Dickens.

   6. To be still or quiet, like one lying down to rest.

            The wind is loud and will not lie.    --Shak.

   7. (Law) To be sustainable; to be capable of being
      maintained. ``An appeal lies in this case.'' --Parsons.

   Note: Through ignorance or carelessness speakers and writers
         often confuse the forms of the two distinct verbs lay
         and lie. Lay is a transitive verb, and has for its
         preterit laid; as, he told me to lay it down, and I
         laid it down. Lie is intransitive, and has for its
         preterit lay; as, he told me to lie down, and I lay
         down. Some persons blunder by using laid for the
         preterit of lie; as, he told me to lie down, and I laid
         down. So persons often say incorrectly, the ship laid
         at anchor; they laid by during the storm; the book was
         laying on the shelf, etc. It is only necessary to
         remember, in all such cases, that laid is the preterit
         of lay, and not of lie.

   {To lie along the shore} (Naut.), to coast, keeping land in
      sight.

   {To lie at the door of}, to be imputable to; as, the sin,
      blame, etc., lies at your door.

   {To lie at the heart}, to be an object of affection, desire,
      or anxiety. --Sir W. Temple.

   {To lie at the mercy of}, to be in the power of.

   {To lie by}.
      (a) To remain with; to be at hand; as, he has the
          manuscript lying by him.
      (b) To rest; to intermit labor; as, we lay by during the
          heat of the day.

   {To lie hard} or {heavy}, to press or weigh; to bear hard.

   {To lie in}, to be in childbed; to bring forth young.

   {To lie in one}, to be in the power of; to belong to. ``As
      much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.''
      --Rom. xii. 18.

   {To lie in the way}, to be an obstacle or impediment.

   {To lie in wait}, to wait in concealment; to lie in ambush.
      

   {To lie on} or {upon}.
      (a) To depend on; as, his life lies on the result.
      (b) To bear, rest, press, or weigh on.

   {To lie low}, to remain in concealment or inactive. [Slang]
      

   {To lie on hand},

   {To lie on one's hands}, to remain unsold or unused; as, the
      goods are still lying on his hands; they have too much
      time lying on their hands.

   {To lie on the head of}, to be imputed to.

            What he gets more of her than sharp words, let it
            lie on my head.                       --Shak.

   {To lie over}.
      (a) To remain unpaid after the time when payment is due,
          as a note in bank.
      (b) To be deferred to some future occasion, as a
          resolution in a public deliberative body.

   {To lie to} (Naut.), to stop or delay; especially, to head as
      near the wind as possible as being the position of
      greatest safety in a gale; -- said of a ship. Cf. {To
      bring to}, under {Bring}.

   {To lie under}, to be subject to; to suffer; to be oppressed
      by.

   {To lie with}.
      (a) To lodge or sleep with.
      (b) To have sexual intercourse with.
      (c) To belong to; as, it lies with you to make amends.

Lien \Li"en\ (l[imac]"[e^]n), obs. p. p.
   of {Lie}. See {Lain}. --Ps. lxviii. 13.

Lien \Lien\ (l[=e]n or l[imac]"[e^]n; 277), n. [F. lien band,
   bond, tie, fr. L. ligamen, fr. ligare to bind. Cf. {League} a
   union, {Leam} a string, {Leamer}, {Ligament}.] (Law)
   A legal claim; a charge upon real or personal property for
   the satisfaction of some debt or duty; a right in one to
   control or hold and retain the property of another until some
   claim of the former is paid or satisfied.

Source : WordNet®

lien
     n 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 [syn: {spleen}]