li|ai|son

li|ai|son «_LEE ay ZON; lee AY zon, LEE uh-», noun, verb.

–n.

1. a) the connection between parts of an army, branches of a service, or the like, to secure proper cooperation: »

His job was to maintain liaison between the regular army and the company building the tanks.

b) a similar connection between persons or groups to secure cooperation, such as that between a customer and a manufacturer, a sales force and an engineering department, schools within a district, or departments of a government: »

A need for some closer liaison between business and government was expressed (Raymond Daniell).

c) a person who establishes or maintains such a connection: »

In recent years he served as the…company's liaison with European scientific centers (New York Times).

2. an illicit intimacy between a man and a woman.

3. (in speaking French and other languages) joining a usually silent final consonant to a following word that begins with a vowel or mute h.

4. the act or fact of thickening sauces, soups, or other liquid food by the addition of eggs, flour, or other thickeners.

–v.i.

to form a liaison; liaise: »

a half-day of conventional sightseeing or shopping, then half-the-night (depending on one's constitution) liaisoning with the natives at nightclubs (Jon Ruddy).

╂[< Old French liaison < Latin ligātiō, -ōnis < ligāre to bind]