lay

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Pronunciation 1.2 Etymology 1 1.2.1 Verb 1.2.1.1 Antonyms 1.2.1.2 Derived terms 1.2.1.3 Translations 1.3 Etymology 2 1.3.1 Noun 1.3.1.1 Synonyms 1.3.1.2 Translations 1.4 Etymology 3 1.4.1 Adjective 1.4.1.1 Related terms 1.4.1.2 Translations 1.5 Etymology 4 1.5.1 Verb 1.5.1.1 Derived terms 1.6 Derived terms 2 Malagasy 2.1 Etymology 2.2 Noun

[edit] English

[edit] Pronunciation

• enPR: lā, IPA: /leɪ/, SAMPA: /leI/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}

  Homophones: lei, ley

• Rhymes: -eɪ

[edit] Etymology 1

Old English lecgan, from Germanic. A causative form of lie. Cognate with Dutch leggen, German legen, Swedish lägga.

[edit] Verb

to lay (third-person singular simple present lays, present participle laying, simple past and past participle laid)

1. (transitive) To place something down in a position of rest.
2. (transitive, archaic) To cause to subside or abate.
3. (transitive) To leave something somewhere.
4. (transitive) To prepare (e.g., the groundwork, the table).
5. (transitive) To install certain building materials, laying one thing on top of another.

   lay brick

   lay flooring

6. (transitive) To produce and deposit an egg.
7. (transitive) To have sexual intercourse with someone, especially in a casual manner.
8. (transitive) To wager that an event will not take place.
9. (intransitive, nonstandard or colloquial) To lie.
   • 1811, Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility, chapter 19

     Without shutting herself up from her family, or leaving the house in determined solitude to avoid them, or laying awake the whole night to indulge meditation, Elinor found every day afforded her leisure enough to think of Edward

[edit] Antonyms

• (wager on an event): back

[edit] Derived terms

[edit] Translations

[edit] Etymology 2

From the verb.

[edit] Noun

lay (plural lays)

1. Arrangement or relationship; layout; eg, the lay of the land.
2. The direction a rope is twisted.

   Worm and parcel with the lay; turn and serve the other way.

3. A casual sexual partner.

   What was I, just another lay you can toss aside as you go on to your next conquest?

4. A ballad or sung poem.

[edit] Synonyms

See WikiSaurus:promiscuous woman

[edit] Translations

arrangement or relationship

• Dutch: ligging f.

[edit] Etymology 3

From Old French lai

[edit] Adjective

lay (comparative more lay, superlative most lay)

1. Non-professional, not being a member of an organized institution (e.g. scientific lay person).
2. Not belonging to the clergy.

   They seemed more lay than clerical.

[edit] Related terms

• laity
• layman

[edit] Translations

[edit] Etymology 4

See lie

[edit] Verb

lay

1. Simple past of lie when pertaining to position.

   The baby lay in its crib and slept silently.

[edit] Derived terms

• layabout

[edit] Derived terms

• layoff

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[edit] Malagasy

[edit] Etymology

Common Malayo-Polynesian, compare Indonesian layar

[edit] Noun

lay

1. sail