/lee'ay zawonn", lee"euh zon', -zeuhn/ or, often, /lay"-; lee ay"zeuhn, -zon/ ; Fr. /lye zawonn"/ , n. , pl. liaisons /-zawonnz", -zonz', -zeuhnz, -zonz/ ; Fr. /-zawonn"/ .
1. the contact or connection maintained by communications between units of the armed forces or of any other organization in order to ensure concerted action, cooperation, etc.
2. a person who initiates and maintains such a contact or connection.
3. an illicit sexual relationship.
4. Cookery. the process of thickening sauces, soups, etc., as by the addition of eggs, cream, butter, or flour.
5. Phonet. a speech-sound redistribution, occurring esp. in French, in which an otherwise silent final consonant is articulated as the initial sound of a following syllable that begins with a vowel or with a silent h, as the z- and n- sounds in Je suis un homme /zheu swee zue nawm"/ .
[ 1640-50; ligation- (s. of ligatio ) a binding. See LIGATION ]