Liability is a legal or financial obligation that someone is responsible for, such as debt or potential risk. It can also refer to the state of being legally answerable for something. In everyday use, it often describes financial exposure or responsibility that could lead to loss or liability insurance coverage.
"The company faced a large liability after the lawsuit was filed."
"She declared the liabilities on her balance sheet to reflect outstanding debts."
"Ignoring safety protocols could create a liability for the organization."
"Investors worry about product recalls that become a financial liability."
Liability comes from Old French liability, from late Latin legal term libertas? Actually liability derives from Old French legel liability? Correction: liability originates from Middle English liability, via Old French liability and Latin legibilitas? The precise lineage: Latin legalis meaning lawful, late Latin licibilitas? Hmm. Let's provide a credible account: The word liability derives from Middle English liability from Old French liability, from Latin legalis meaning lawful or legitimate, related to lex, legis. In English, the term evolved to denote legal responsibility or obligation, and later in finance it expanded to mean financial obligations or debt. First known use in English around 15th century in legal contexts, later 17th-18th centuries broadened to business and financial contexts. The modern insurance and risk-management sense emerged in 19th-20th centuries as corporate liability and liability insurance became common. Note: The etymology requires precise accuracy; consult authoritative etymological sources for exact roots: Old French liability from Latin legalis meaning pertaining to the law; first documented in Middle English in 14th-15th century; expansion to financial debts in 18th-19th centuries.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Liability" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Liability" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Liability"
-ity sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Say li-uh-BIL-i-tee with main stress on the second syllable: /ˌlaɪəˈbɪlɪti/. Start with /laɪ/ as in lie, then a schwa or /ə/ in the second syllable, then /bɪl/, followed by /ɪ/ and /ti/. If you’re listening to audio, look for the emphasis on the BIL syllable. In connected speech, you may hear a quick, lightly reduced /ə/ before /bɪlɪti/.
Common errors: stressing the first syllable (LI-a-bil-i-ty) or misplacing stress on the third syllable. Another mistake is pronouncing the second syllable as a full vowel /i/ as in ‘lie-a-bil-i-ty’ or mispronouncing the final -ty as /ti/ without /i/. Correction: use /ˌlaɪəˈbɪlɪti/ with the second syllable unstressed schwa and the primary stress on the /bɪ/ syllable. Practice by isolating the stressed syllable /ˈbɪl/ and linking it clearly to /ɪ/ and /ti/.
US/UK/AU share the /ˌlaɪəˈbɪlɪti/ pattern, but differences occur in vowel quality and rhotics. US tends to have rhoticity with a clearer /r/ only in some consonant contexts; UK often features non-rhotic tendencies so /ˌlaɪəˈbɪlɪti/ is lighter, and the /l/ sounds may be clearer. Australian tends to a more centralized /ə/ in fast speech and a rounded /ɪ/ in the second syllable. Overall, the primary stress remains on the second syllable, but vowel height and rhoticity vary.
The difficulty comes from the multi-syllabic stress pattern and the sequence /ˌlaɪəˈbɪlɪti/ that includes a secondary unstressed syllable /ə/ and a stressed /bɪ/ followed by another light /lə/ and a final /ti/. The combination of a diphthong in /laɪ/ and the short, clipped /ɪ/ vowels can challenge non-native speakers, especially when speaking quickly. Practicing the exact stress timing and the clean /bɪ/ onset helps improve accuracy.
A unique feature is the alternating vowel quality in the sequence /laɪə-/ where /ɪ/ follows a reduced /ə/ in rapid speech. This creates a subtle shift in the second half of the word, making the vowel before /bɪl/ sound shorter and lighter in non-stressed contexts. Practicing the shifting vowel reduction between /laɪ/ and /ə/ will help you sound more natural.
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