liana

See also: Liana and Liāna

English

Etymology

From French liane, from a native name, but influenced by lien (“to bind”)

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɑːnə

Noun

liana (plural lianas)

1. A climbing woody vine, usually tropical.
   • 1839, Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle, Chapter 2,^[1]

     Many of the older trees presented a very curious appearance from the tresses of a liana hanging from their boughs, and resembling bundles of hay.

   • 1884, Achilles Daunt, Frank Redcliffe: A story of travel and adventure in the forests of Venezuela (A Book for Boys), London: T. Nelson & Sons, Chapter 5, p. 99,^[2]

     Flowering lianas hung in long streaming lines from the outstretched boughs and dipped their pendulous bouquets in the water of the igarape, which reflected the cloudless blue of the sky.

   • 1943, Allied Geographical Section, Southwest Pacific Area, Getting About in New Guinea, 4 April, 1943, p. 6,^[3]

     Allow friendly natives to walk in front of you on the track. They have sharp eyes for pitfalls, snakes, hornets, and stinging plants. They will cut the lianas and thorny trailers. They like to do it.

   • 1961, V. S. Naipaul, A House for Mr Biswas, Vintage International, 2001, Part Two, Chapter 3,

     They left the drive and stood among the wild tannia under the saman tree. Mrs Tulsi held a liana and offered it to Mr Biswas. While he felt it, she held a thinner liana and pulled it down. ‘As strong as rope,’ she said. ‘The children could skip with this.’

2. Any vine.
   • 2001, Robert W. Kiger and Duncan M. Porter Categorial glossary for the Flora of North America Project" lists "liana" and "vine" as synonyms with the same definition. (accessed 24 February 2016)

Translations

climbing woody vine

• Danish: lian (da) c
• Dutch: liaan (nl) c
• Esperanto: liano (eo)
• German: Liane (de) f
• Hungarian: lián (hu)
• Ido: liano (io)
• Italian: liana (it) f
• Khmer: លតា (km) (lea’daa)

• Marathi: महालता (mahāltā), काष्ठलता (kāṣṭhaltā), महावेल f (mahāvel)
• Polish: liana (pl) f
• Portuguese: cipó (pt) m
• Romanian: liană (ro) f
• Russian: лиа́на (ru) f (liána)
• Swedish: lian (sv) c
• Tagalog: dakbaging

See also

• climber
• scrambler
• twiner
• vine

Anagrams

• Al Ain, Alani, Alina, IANAL, Lanai, lanai

---

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /liˈana/, /ˈljana/

Noun

liana f (plural liane)

1. liana (vine)
2. plot (complicated)

Anagrams

• alani
• anali
• inala

---

Polish

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

liana f

1. liana

Declension

declension of liana

	singular	plural
nominative	liana	liany
genitive	liany	lian
dative	lianie	lianom
accusative	lianę	liany
instrumental	lianą	lianami
locative	lianie	lianach
vocative	liano	liany

---

Spanish

Etymology

From French liane, of unknown ultimate origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlja.na/

Noun

liana f (plural lianas)

1. liana

Synonyms

• bejuco m
• guaco m