Liability
Etymology
From liable, whose origin is debated but is usually traced to Anglo-French and ultimately Latin ligare, "to bind" — the sense being someone bound or obligated. The suffix -ity turns it into the condition of being bound in this way. In law it names the state of being answerable, and by extension the debts and obligations that responsibility creates.
noun · /ly-uh-BIL-ih-tee/
Legal responsibility for something, especially the obligation to pay for a loss or harm.
What it names
Why businesses buy insurance and sign waivers — it is the exposure to being made to pay when something goes wrong.
Example
The clinic’s lawyers spent months limiting its liability for the botched procedure.
Related idea
Negligence is one common route to liability — a way of being at fault — while liability is the responsibility that results.
noun · /ly-uh-BIL-ih-tee/
A person or thing that is a persistent disadvantage or handicap.
What it names
someone or something that holds you back or creates risk
Example
His temper made him a liability in negotiations.
Related idea
The opposite of an asset. In accounting, liabilities are likewise the debts a business carries on the other side of the ledger.