| 释义 |
▪ I. leverage, n.|ˈliːvərɪdʒ|
[f. lever n.1 + -age.]
1. The action of a lever; the arrangement by which lever-power is applied; also concr. a system of levers.
1724Lond. Gaz. No. 6273/8 An Engine.., which..by means of a Leveridge and an Horizontal Fly,..can Raise..Water. 1839R. S. Robinson Naut. Steam Eng. 99 It resolves itself into a system of leverage. 1884tr. Lotze's Logic 258 The length of leverage must vary inversely as the strength of the force.
2. The power of a lever; the mechanical advantage gained by the use of a lever. leverage of a force (see quot. 1830).
1830Kater & Lardner Mech. x. 135 The distance of the direction of a force from the axis is sometimes called the leverage of the force. 1845Todd & Bowman Phys. Anat. I. 146 The extension of the os calcis..affords a considerable leverage to the muscles of the calf of the leg. 1860O. W. Holmes Elsie V. xvi. (1891) 221 Leverage is everything. 1879G. Macdonald Sir Gibbie II. xiii. 224 The stream worked at the roots, and the wind laid hold of him with fierce leverage. 1882Knowledge No. 19. 403/2 The actual leverage increases as A W is increased, supposing the oar's length to remain unchanged.
b. fig. Advantage for accomplishing a purpose; increased power of action.
1858Gladstone Homer III. 113 The leverage of this straightforward speech..produces an initial movement towards concession on the part of the great hero. 1868Helps Realmah. v. (1876) 86 And it will be putting additional leverage into his hands. 1883Contemp. Rev. Dec. 790 With regard to such men the moralist has no leverage whatever.
3. attrib.
1838Poe A. G. Pym Wks. 1864 IV. 162 A vast leverage power was obtained. 1851H. Stephens Bk. of Farm (ed. 2) I. 258/1 This bend gives a leverage power to the handle, when the graip is used to lift rank wet litter.
Add:[2.] c. Comm. (chiefly U.S.). The increase in earning potential of shares in a company which results from its making only a relatively small proportion of its capitalization available as ordinary shares; the ratio of a company's capitalization to the value of its ordinary shares (cf. gearing vbl. n. 3 b); also, the use of credit or borrowed capital to increase the earning potential of shares, the action of leveraging.
1931Chamberlain & Hay Investment & Speculation xi. 125 The common stock..has a leverage that gives him [sc. the speculator] the full equitable benefit..of any good management of the companies the common stocks of which are in his trust. 1938J. B. Williams Theory of Investment Value xii. 151 If growth is attended by a change in leverage, so that the ratio of bonds to stocks is altered, then the dividends to be paid by a company will increase at a different rate from its assets. 1974‘E. Lathen’ Sweet & Low xvii. 164 People who'll talk you to death about the leverage they get in commodities. a1976in Webster Suppl. s.v., Buying stocks on margin is a simple example of leverage. 1987Economist 21 Mar. 90/3 The reason for dealing in futures..is that the gains (and the losses) are potentially much greater because of the leverage that these markets allow. 1995Times 9 June 23/2 He will also contain the expansion of BAe [sc. British Aerospace] and improve the leverage to achieve his ultimate ambition..: a merger of GEC's defence businesses with those of BAe.
▪ II. ˈleverage, v. U.S.
[f. the n.]
trans. and intr. To lever; spec. to speculate or cause to speculate financially on borrowed capital expecting profits made to be greater than the interest payable. Hence ˈleveraging vbl. n.; also leveraged ppl. a., freq. as leveraged buy-out (chiefly U.S.), the buy-out of a company by its management with the help of outside capital.
1937Harper's Mag. June 63 Acey leveraged the arm upward. 1957Robert R. Young & Alleghany Corp. 2 Founded in 1929.., Alleghany was a classic example of the highly leveraged holding companies of that period. 1968N.Y. Times 20 Feb. 64 Short-term trading,..selling short and leveraging through borrowing are all speculative techniques which carry with them greater risk of loss. 1971Atlantic Monthly July 49 He gave her the benefit of his experience, leveraging her up to the ears in convertible bonds. 1972‘A. Smith’ Supermoney iv. i. 209 The corporation discovered that the more it borrowed, the higher the earnings and the higher the stock, so it began to leverage. 1973N.Y. Law Jrnl. 26 July 3/3 Tight credit tends to put some of the marginal builders (that are very highly leveraged and have tiny working capital positions) under additional pressures. 1976Forbes (N.Y.) 15 July 83/1 We have eased into the safer waters of secondary financings and leveraged buyouts. 1980Financial Rev. (Austral.) 8 July 19/3 John Polmear had engineered what the Americans call the ‘leveraged buy-out’. 1984USA Today 6 Apr. 4b/5 Many..clients want to buy companies in leveraged buy-outs. 1985Times 2 May 21/5 Leveraged buyouts are commonly used in the United States to defeat hostile takeover bids, but have yet to be successfully tested in Britain. |