Leverage (pronounced lev-rij,
lev-er-ij or lee-ver-ij)
(1) The
action of a lever, a rigid bar that pivots about one point and that is used to
move an object at a second point by a force applied at a third.
(2) The
mechanical advantage or power gained by using a lever. A force compounded by means of a lever
rotating around a pivot.
(3) The
power or ability to act or to influence people, events, decisions etc, based on
position, personality, reputation etc (an applied to both institutions &
individuals); sway.
(4) In
finance, the use of a small initial investment, credit, or borrowed funds to
gain a very high return in relation to one's investment, to control a much
larger investment, or to reduce one's own liability for any loss (in some
places known also as “gearing” and often used to express the “debt to equity”
ratio).
(5) To
use (a quality or advantage) to obtain a desired effect or result:
(6) To
provide with leverage.
(7) To
invest or arrange (invested funds) using leverage.
(8) To
exert power or influence on:
1724:
The construct was lever + -age. Lever (a
rigid piece which is capable of turning about one point, or axis (the fulcrum),
and in which are two or more other points where forces are applied (used for
transmitting and modifying force and motion)) was from the Middle English lever, levore & levour, from the Old French leveor
& leveur (a lifter, lever (also
Old French and French levier)), from the
Latin levātor (a lifter), from levō (to raise). The suffix -age was from the Middle English
-age, from the Old French -age, from the Latin -āticum. Cognates include
the French -age, the Italian -aggio, the Portuguese -agem, the Spanish -aje & Romanian -aj. It was used to form nouns (1) with the sense
of collection or appurtenance, (2) indicating a process, action, or a result,
(3) of a state or relationship, (4) indicating a place, (5) indicating a
charge, toll, or fee, (6) indicating a rate & (7) of a unit of measure. Leverage is a noun & verb, leverage is a
noun, leveraged & leveraging are verbs and leverageable is an adjective;
the noun plural is leverages.
The
original meaning was to describe the action of a lever, the meaning “the power
or force of a lever” emerging in 1827 while the figurative sense of an “advantage
for accomplishing a purpose” dates from 1858. The use in financial matters seems first to
have appeared in writing in 1933 and was a creation of US English, in use as a
verb by at least 1956. The synonyms and
related terms when describing the physics of the mechanical effect include mechanical
advantage, strength, multiplier effect & force multiplier; in the
figurative sense the usual alternatives are clout, influence & pull. In the world of limited liability companies,
leveraged financial arrangements (such as the “leveraged buyout”) are so common
that when the mechanism is not used, the adjectives non-leveraged & unleveraged
often appear. The word is so embedded in
the slang of those in business where leveraged transactions are common that as
a transitive verb, it’s commonly used generally to suggest “to use; to exploit;
to manipulate in order to take full advantage of someone or something. The word has also entered the language of international
relations (though used more often by commentators than diplomats) to describe
what is known casually as “hostage diplomacy”.
The taking of hostages for ransom or some other purpose is not new and
has probably been practiced since human societies first interacted and many
cases over the centuries have been documented but historically, the tactic was
once blatantly admitted, the gangsterism unconcealed. Now, states which use hostages for leverage
usually gloss things with the pretence of legality, the hostage convicted of something and given a sentence disproportionately long and while none seem yet to have been sufficiently cynical to have used a charge of "unspecified offences" that may yet happen. The leverage sought tends to be political
(the release of prisoners held by the hostage’s country of origin or some other
concession) and the expert practitioners are the usual suspects: the DPRK
(Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea)), the PRC (People’s
Republic of China) and the Russian Federation.
Lever
porn: 1972 Mercedes-Benz Unimog w1416.
The multiple levers were required because of the many drive and gearing
combinations available. In vehicles of
this type, this may be close to peak-lever because it's become common to use
electronic controls for activation but the attraction of mechanical levers
is their robust reliability. For those who remember the way things used to be done, the tactility is also compelling.
The
surname Lever is English and of Norman origin; it was a nickname for a
fleet-footed or timid person, from the Old French levre (hare), from the Latin lepus
(genitive leporis) although it’s not
impossible that at least in some instances, it was a metonymic occupational
name for a hunter or trapper of hares.
In some regions it may also have been a topographic name for someone who
lived in a place thickly grown with rushes, the link the Old English lǣfer (rush, reed, iris). Great & Little Lever in
Greater Manchester are (collectively) named with this word and if there was a habitational
origin to any names it would have come from such placed. Although rare in Germany, where Lever exists
it is a descendent of the medieval personal names Lever (a variant of Liever and Levert, a variant of Lievert. In Slovenia, it’s an altered form of Levar.
Leverage
began its life meaning “to use a lever or some similar tool to gain a
mechanical advantage, typically in the context of lifting or moving heavy objects”,
the idea generally thus one of “effective force multiplication”. From here it came variously to be used figuratively,
notably sine the 1930s in structured financial transactions. Financial Leverage is the use of various
financial instruments or borrowed capital to increase the potential return of
an investment, the attraction the magnification of profit; the risk in increase
in potential losses. Social leverage is
not new but it’s assumed a new significance in the age of social media because
the proliferation of access afforded by the platforms has removed the “gatekeeper”
role the legacy media once fulfilled and a presence, once established in one
context can be leveraged into a position in other, lucrative fields. Fame itself seemed to be enough: Lindsay
Lohan’s forays into music and fashion might seem related to her career in film
but wouldn’t appear obviously to be linked with her more recent activities
promoting cryptocurrency. That doesn’t
matter because notoriety (for better or worse) is enough; her choice of a
certain dress to wear to one of her many court appearances saw the garment
sell-out within hours. Nor is this
multi-directional leverage a creature only of pop culture, a number of Nobel laureates
wryly observing that having won the prize for their accomplishments is a
certain branch of science, they end up on the “commentator lists” of media
organizations and are asked for their thoughts on things hardly related to
their field.
In the
matter of Grand Theft Auto (GTA5): Lindsay Lohan v Take-Two Interactive
Software Inc et al, New York Court of Appeals (No 24, pp1-11, 29 March 2018)
It’s of
course routine for leverage to be weaponized but sometimes, there’s the
suggestion the leverage of others can be appropriated and misused, the essence
of many an ambush marketing campaign. Lindsay
Lohan in 2014 sued a software house, alleging one of the characters in the game
Grand Theft Auto V (GTA5) was based on a likeness of her and thus an invasion
of her privacy: “an attempt to leverage her public profile to boost sales of
the latest instalment of the series”.
The game’s producers responded, labelling the suit a “publicity stunt”
and in private discussions they may also have called it a cunning one. It took an unremarkable four years from
filing for the case to reach New York’s highest appellate court where it was dismissed,
six judges of the Court of Appeals finding the “actress/singer” in GTA5 merely
resembled a “generic young woman” rather than anyone specific. Concurring
with the 2016 ruling of the New York County Supreme Court which, on appeal,
also found for the game’s makers, the judges, as a point of law, accepted the
claim a computer game’s character “could be construed a portrait”, which “could
constitute an invasion of an individual’s privacy” but, on the facts of the
case, the likeness was “not sufficiently strong”. The “… artistic renderings are an indistinct,
satirical representation of the style, look and persona of a modern,
beach-going young woman... that is not recognizable as the plaintiff” the
judgment read. Ms Lohan’s lawyers did
not seek leave to appeal.