A way to picture it: a person tied by an invisible rope to something that may come for them — a bill, a punishment, an illness, a habit. The rope means they are the one it will reach.
From the word’s history
From Old French lier 'to bind', from Latin ligō, ligāre 'to bind, to tie' (the same root as ligament and obligation).
字根來自古法語 lier「綁」，再上溯拉丁語 ligāre「綁、繫」——跟 ligament（韌帶）、obligation（義務）同源。這條線索直接給了我們核心畫面：liable 的底層就是「被繫住」。中文裡「責任」的「負」、「牽連」的「牽」，其實走的是同一種比喻。俄語的 обя́занный（有義務的）也是從「綁」引申來的，可見這個聯想跨語言都成立。
Etymology note supplied with this entry (Old French lier ← Latin ligō, ligāre 'to bind')
登入就可以看每一支怎麼連回核心畫面。
原始詞典資料4 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
liableadj/ˈlaɪ̯əbəl/
- 1
Bound or obliged in law or equity; responsible; answerable.
- The surety is liable for the debt of his principal.
- He inveighed against the folly of making oneself liable for the debts of others; vented many bitter execrations against the brother; and concluded with wishing something could be done for the unfortunate family. The passion for philosophy, like that for religion, seems liable to this inconvenience
- 2
Subject; susceptible; prone.
- This crime is liable to imprisonment for life.
- A man liable to heart disease.
- 3
Exposed to a certain contingency or causality, more or less probable.
- Electronic devices are liable to malfunction when exposed to extreme heat.
- 4
Likely.
- Someone is liable to slip on your icy sidewalk.
摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。