lai

See also lái, lǎi, lài, lại, l-ai, and Lai

English

Etymology

From Middle English lai, lay, from Old French lai (“song, lyric, poem”), of Germanic origin, from Old Frankish *laik, *laih (“play, melody, song”), from Proto-Germanic *laikaz, *laikiz (“jump, play, dance, hymn”), from Proto-Indo-European *loig-, *(e)laiǵ- (“to jump, spring, play”). Akin to Old High German leih (“a play, skit, melody, song”), Middle High German leich (“piece of music, epic song played on a harp”), Gothic  (laiks, “a dance”), Old English lācan (“to move quickly, fence, sing”). More at lake.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /laɪ/
• Rhymes: -aɪ
• Homophones: lie, lye

Noun

lai (plural lais)

1. (historical) A mostly North European form of medieval song, with stanzas that do not repeat.

See also

• Lai on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• ail Ali, ALI

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA: /lɛ/

Etymology 1

From Middle French lai, from Old French lai (“song, lyric, poem”), of Germanic origin, from Old Frankish *laik, *laih (“play, melody, song”), from Proto-Germanic *laikaz, *laikiz (“jump, play, dance, hymn”), from Proto-Indo-European *loig-, *(e)laiǵ- (“to jump, spring, play”). Akin to Old High German leih (“a play, skit, melody, song”), Middle High German leich (“piece of music, epic song played on a harp”), Old English lācan (“to move quickly, fence, sing”). More at lake.

Noun

lai m. (plural lais)

1. (historical) lai (a mostly North European form of medieval song, with stanzas that do not repeat).

Etymology 2

From Old French lai, from Latin laicus.

Adjective

lai

1. lay, equivalent to French laïc, laïque (relating to laypersons as opposed to clerical).

   Only used in the phrase "frères lais"; means religious servants not (yet) having been admitted to the priestly dignity.

Anagrams

• ail, lia

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Lojban

Cmavo

lai

1. indicates that a name follows, and that the speaker means the mass composed of constituents bearing this name

Related terms

• la

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Mandarin

Romanization

lai

1. Nonstandard spelling of lái.
2. Nonstandard spelling of lǎi.
3. Nonstandard spelling of lài.

Usage notes

English transcriptions of Chinese speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Chinese language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

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Old French

Noun

lai m. (oblique plural lais, nominative singular lais, nominative plural lai)

1. lai (Medieval text)

Adjective

lai

1. ugly

Descendants

• French: laid

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Romanian

Alternative forms

• lău, (feminine) laie

Etymology

Uncertain. Several explanations exist. One derives it from Albanian ljaj, itself possibly from Latin flavus, but this is uncertain, and it may be that the Albanian is derived from Proto-Romanian (or Aromanian- cf. the cognate laiu, lae in this language). Other theories suggest a Romanian root *gălai, from Latin galla or alternatively an etymology from labes (“fault, defect”), extending the meaning to "spot" and hence, "black" or "dark", but as it is a secondary meaning in Latin, this is not very likely. A more likely explanation may be a relation to the verb la (“to wash”), as lai is used mostly to describe the natural color of wool resulting from washing (cf. the similar secondary senses of Spanish crudo, French écru).

Pronunciation

• IPA: [ laj ]

Adjective

lai ^{3 nom/acc forms}

1. (popular) black (or black mixed with white), gray

Synonyms

• negru
• brumăriu

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Romansch

Alternative forms

• (Sursilvan, Sutsilvan) lag
• (Sutsilvan) laitg
• (Puter) lej

Etymology

From Latin lacus.

Noun

lai m. (plural lais)

1. lake