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Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

A Way with Words, a radio show and podcast about language and linguistics.

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How to lever this new usage
Guest
1
2009/08/13 - 7:34am
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I have a colleague who is using the verb lever to mean "to make use of" or "to take advantage of."

... or lever all of its supposedly sweet features.

It looks to me like an equivalent of the verb to leverage. It further looks to me like a back-formation from the noun leverage.

Is anyone else hearing this verb in business or technology contexts?

Guest
2
2009/08/14 - 3:37am
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Leveraged as a verb has indeed made it's way into business vernacular.

As an adj - in investment banking there are "leveraged accounts"
As a verb - people tend to employ it in the same way as "use". We'd like to leverage our knowledge of xxx to assist your company

Guest
3
2009/08/14 - 7:52am
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Clear enough. But what about hearing the verb to lever?

I asked one person, and you correctly identified the business context. It was finance. It seems they talk of levering something to create financial leverage. Now it is being extended to levering a meeting to promote an idea, etc.

EmmettRedd
859 Posts
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4
2009/08/14 - 9:21am
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In finance, leverage also means to borrow and add to existing capital or using collateral to get cash. Specifically, we are in financial trouble today because, last year, the housing market was over leveraged.

Emmett

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