Word of the Day: May 23, 2009 - lieu

lieu (loo) - noun

Lieu means "place; stead."

First used in the written form around 1250–1300. The word lieu is borrowed independently by English as lieu in the phrase "in lieu of" and comes in turn from the Latin word locus, meaning "place," source of the English word local. Locum tenens (or locum for short) means "temporary replacement," literally "holding the place."