lai

See also: Appendix:Variations of "lai"

Languages (29)

Translingual • English

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Aromanian • Bavarian • Bourguignon • Champenois • Estonian • French • Ido • Istriot • Iu Mien • Khasi • Laboya • Latvian • Lingala • Ma'di • Maia • Malay • Mandarin • Maroon Spirit Language • North Frisian • Old French • Old Irish • Pnar • Romanian • Romansh • Vietnamese • Welsh • Zhuang

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Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

Clipping of English Lambya with i as a placeholder.

Symbol

lai

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Lambya.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Lambya terms

English

Alternative forms

• lay

Etymology

From Middle English lai, lay, from Old French lai (“song, lyric, poem”), from Old Frankish *laik, *laih (“play, melody, song”), from Proto-Germanic *laikaz, *laikiz (“jump, play, dance, hymn”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyg- (“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 𐌻𐌰𐌹𐌺𐍃 (laiks, “a dance”), Old English lācan (“to move quickly, fence, sing”). More at lake.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /laɪ/
• Rhymes: -aɪ
• Homophones: Leigh, lie, lye

Noun

lai (plural lais)

1. (historical) A mostly North European medieval form of lyrical, narrative poem written in octosyllabic couplets that often deals with tales of adventure and romance, with stanzas that do not repeat.

Translations

form of lyrical, narrative poem

• Polish: lai (pl) f

See also

• lai on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• lai lai
• lai see

Anagrams

• -ial, Ali, IAL, LIA, ail, ali-

Aromanian

Alternative forms

• laiu

Etymology

Uncertain. Compare Romanian lai, Albanian ljaj.

Adjective

lai

1. black
2. (figurative) poor, miserable, unfortunate
3. (figurative) wicked, bad

Synonyms

• (black): negru
• (poor, unfortunate): mãrat, curbusit, stuhinat, scurpisit, buisit, vãpsit
• (wicked, bad): arãu, slab, urut, cãtrãcearcu, afischcu, tihilai, blãstimat

Related terms

• lãeatsã
• lãiturã
• lãescu
• lãilji

Bavarian

Alternative forms

• lei

Adverb

lai

1. (Austria, Tyrol) only, just

Bourguignon

Etymology

From Latin illa.

Article

lai (masculine le or lou, plural les)

1. (feminine nouns) the

Champenois

Etymology

Inherited from Old French la, from Latin illa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɛ/

Article

lai (masculine lou, plural les)

1. (feminine nouns) the

References

• Daunay, Jean (1998), Parlers de Champagne : Pour un classement thématique du vocabulaire des anciens parlers de Champagne (Aube - Marne - Haute-Marne)‎^[2] (in French), Rumilly-lés-Vaudes
• Baudoin, Alphonse (1885), Glossaire de la forêt de Clairvaux‎^[3] (in French), Troyes

Estonian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *lakja, originally from a Germanic source. Cognate to Finnish laaja, Livonian laiga.

Adjective

lai (genitive laia, partitive laia, comparative laiem, superlative kõige laiem)

1. wide, broad

Declension

Declension of lai (ÕS type 22u/leib, length gradation)
		singular	plural
nominative		lai	laiad
accusative	nom.
	gen.	laia
genitive			laiade
partitive		laia	laiu laiasid
illative		laia laiasse	laiadesse laiusse
inessive		laias	laiades laius
elative		laiast	laiadest laiust
allative		laiale	laiadele laiule
adessive		laial	laiadel laiul
ablative		laialt	laiadelt laiult
translative		laiaks	laiadeks laiuks
terminative		laiani	laiadeni
essive		laiana	laiadena
abessive		laiata	laiadeta
comitative		laiaga	laiadega

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɛ/

• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

  (file)

Etymology 1

Inherited from Middle French lai, from Old French lai (“song, lyric, poem”), from Frankish *laik, *laih (“play, melody, song”), from Proto-Germanic *laikaz, *laikiz (“jump, play, dance, hymn”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyg- (“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. Alternatively from Celtic; compare Old Irish loíd (“poem”).

Noun

lai m (plural lais)

1. (historical) a mostly North European medieval form of lyrical, narrative poem written in octosyllabic couplets that often deals with tales of adventure and romance., with stanzas that do not repeat

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old French lai, from Latin lāicus. Doublet of laïque.

Adjective

lai (feminine laie, masculine plural lais, feminine plural laies)

1. (archaic) lay (not clerical)

   Synonym: laïque

2. Still used in the terms frère lai, sœur laie, which see.

   Synonym: convers

Further reading

• “lai”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Anagrams

• ail, lia

Ido

Noun

lai

1. plural of la

Istriot

Noun

lai

1. side

Adverb

lai

1. here (this place)
   • 1877, Antonio Ive, Canti popolari istriani: raccolti a Rovigno, volume 5, Ermanno Loescher, page 40:

     Vuoltite biunduleîna inverso lai,

     Turn around towards this place, little blonde,

Iu Mien

Etymology

From Proto-Hmong-Mien *-ʔræi (“vegetable”). Cognate with White Hmong zaub and Western Xiangxi Miao [Fenghuang] reib.

Noun

lai

1. vegetable

Khasi

Khasi cardinal numbers

<  2	3	4  >
Cardinal : lai

Etymology

From Proto-Khasian *laaj. Compare Pnar le, Lyngngam laj, War-Jaintia lɛ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /laːj/

Numeral

lai

1. three

See also

• 'lai

References

• Singh, U Nissor (1906), Khasi-English dictionary‎^[4], Shillong: Eastern Bengal and Assam Secretariat Press, page 109. Searchable online at SEAlang.net.

Laboya

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *laki. Cognate with Indonesian laki.

Noun

lai

1. husband

References

• Rina, A. Dj.; Kabba, John Lado B. (2011), “lai”, in Kamus Bahasa Lamboya, Kabupaten Sumba Bakat [Dictionary of Lamboya Language, West Sumba Regency], Waikabubak: Dinas Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata, Kabupaten Sumba Bakat, page 58
• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*laki”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Latvian

Etymology

Traditionally, lai is derived from the imperative form of the verb laist (“to allow, to permit”) (quod vide): laid → lai, an evolution reminiscent of Russian пускай (puskaj), пусть (pustʹ, “let, so be”) from пускать (puskatʹ, “to allow, to permit”). The form laid is indeed attested as a conjunction in the earliest sources. This view, however, has been recently criticized on the basis that Latvian lai, Lithuanian lai̇̃ are clearly related to Old Prussian -lai, which is added to (usually infinitive) verbs to indicate volitive or conditional mood. This suggests a Proto-Baltic form *lai, probably related to the final -le of Latvian reinforcing particles jele ~ jel, nule, and (dialectal) nele, and to Old Prussian -le, apparently a variant of -lai. This *le would then have the same origin as Proto-Slavic *li (compare Polish li (“only”) Russian ли (li)), with cognates in other languages (Albanian, Tocharian) from a basic Proto-Indo-European *l-. After this criticism, the relationship between lai and laist has become unclear. Maybe Proto-Indo-European *l- was an old verb, or maybe laist was derived from an older particle.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [laî]

• Audio:

  (file)

Conjunction

lai

1. with the conditional, indicating purpose, sometimes cause; sometimes correlating with tāpēc, tādēļ in the main clause; so that, in order to, in order that

   lai varētu labāk pārredzēt apkārtni, bija jāuzkāpj tornī

   in order to be able to see the surroundings better, it was necessary to climb the tower

   kad viņa, laimīgi smiedamās, pacēla savu glāzi, lai saskandinātu ar viesiem, es noraudzījos ar klusu skaudību

   when she, laughing happily, lifted her glass, in order to clink glasses with the visitors, I watched with quiet envy

   gājējiem jāraugās, lai dēļa vaļējais gals neiesistu pa pieri

   the passers-by must be careful, so that the free end of the log does not hit them on the forehead

   apģērbam un apaviem jābūt ērtiem, lai tie netraucētu kustības

   clothes and shoes must be comfortable, so that they don't disturb (one's) movement

   kafiju nedrīkst vārīt, lai tā nezaudētu aromātu

   coffee should not be boiled, so that it doesn't lose its aroma

   es mācos tikai tāpēc, lai labāk noderētu lielajā cīņā

   I learn only so that I can serve better in the great fight

   studēt es gribu tikai tādēļ, lai pati vairāk zinātu un lai iegūtās zināšanas varētu atdot citiem

   I want to study only so that I will know more and so that the knowledge gained can be given to others

2. indicating concession, especially in the combinations lai gan, lai arī; though, although, even though

   lai cīņas būs grūtas, mēs uzvarēsim

   though the fight will be difficult, we will win

   un, lai ļaudis sacījuši ko sacīdami, jaunā sieva katru sliktu vārdu atvairījusi

   and, although the people said what(ever) they wanted, the young wife deflected every bad word

   pēc teātra Vilis Virpuls palika uz deju, lai gan nekad nedejoja

   after the theater Vilis Virpuls stayed at the dance, even though he never danced

   viņš atbrauca ātri, lai gan ceļš bija slikts

   he came quickly, although the road was bad

   lai arī dārzs ir mazliet nolaists, tas tomēr ir skaists

   although the garden is a little neglected, it still is beautiful

3. indicating strong concession, in combination with arī, nu, vai and with interrogative pronouns like cik, kāds, kurš, kas, kur; no matter how, which, who, what, where; however, wherever, whichever, whoever, whatever, wherever

   viņa bija viņam iedvesusi ticību, ka viņš skatīs sauli, lai arī cik grūti būtu pašreiz

   she had inspired in him the belief that he would look at the sun, no matter how difficult this would be now

   mēs visi būsim kopā, lai kā mums kuram ies

   we will all be together, no matter how it goes for us

   lai vai kā, es tomēr runāšu

   no matter how (= whatever happens), I will still speak

   lai kur kāds runā, viņš tūdaļ pretī ar savu

   wherever someone speaks, he immediately (goes) against him with his (words, opinions)

   lai nu tālu, tomēr kādos svētkos raudzīšu attikt

   however far (it may be), I will still try to be at the celebration

4. after certain verbs, introducing a direct object clause; that, for ... to, to

   zīlītes vairs negaidīja, lai Ilzīte viņas baro

   the titmice no longer waited for Ilzīte to feed them

   nē, viņa lūdza, lai es apturu mašīnu

   no, she asked that I stop the car

   vai nevajadzētu paziņot, lai atbrauc viņa piederīgie?

   couldn't (you) have informed (us) that his people would come back?

   bērnu stomatoloģiskajā poliklīnikā galvenokārt rūpējas par to, lai zobi tiktu savlaicīgi salaboti

   in the children's dental clinic, one cares primarily that the (children's) teeth will be repaired in time

5. indicating manner and/or purpose, usually correlating with an adverb like tā (“like that”) in the main clause; so that, such that, in such a way that

   runā, lai var ko saprast

   speak so that (= in such a way that) one can understand something

   lampu novietu tā, lai gaisma krīt no augšas un kreisās puses

   the lamp (is) placed in such a way that the light falls from the top and (from) the left side

   tu centies to pateikt saudzīgi, tā, lai mani nesāpinātu

   you try to say it gently, in such a way that it won't hurt me

6. indicating consequence, especially with tik (“so (much)”), pārāk (“too much”) and an adjective or participle in the main clause; so that, so ... that, too (much) ... for, to, that

   pie debesīm stāvēja pusmēness, izplatīdams pietiekošu krēslu, lai celiņu uz riju varētu redzēt

   on the sky (there) was a half moon, spreading enough light (literally, “dawn”), so that one could see the little path to the barn

   aitas bijušas tik vājas, lai vējš apgāztu

   the sheep were so weak that the wind (would) turn them over

   zemnieki bija pārāk iebaidīti, lai nakts laikā rādītos ārpus mājām

   the peasants were too intimidated to show themselves outside during the night

   nebija vēl noadīti tik biezi cimdi, lai tagad, laukā braucot, nesaltu rokas

   (one) had not yet knit such thick gloves that, going out now, (one's) hands wouldn't freeze

Particle

lai

1. used to express an optative (wish) nuance: may, may it be that

   lai dabas spēkus gudrs cilvēks veic ― may the wise person lead the forces of nature

   lai visas dienas labus vārdus teic ― may all days bring (literally, “say”) good words

   lai viss sils izdegtu! ― may the whole (pine) forest burn!

   lai dzīvo! ― (long) may he live! hooray!

   tie ir trakāki par baroniem... velns lai viņus parauj!

   those (people) are crazier than the barons... may the devil take them!

2. used to express encouragement, agreement: let

   ja tu, Zane, nevari, lai paliek šovakar govis neslauktas ― if you, Zane, can't (do it), let the cows remain unmilked tonight

   draugi mani atkal uzaicināja medībās: “labi”, es teicu, “lai notiek; bet pēdējo reizi!”

   friends invited me again to hunt: “OK,” I said, “let it happen (= I'll go); but (for) the last time!”

3. used to mark third person imperative forms of verbs; sometimes used with the first person also: let

   “lai taču viņš iet”, Aina saka; “lai viņš iet, es arī neturēšu viņu, lai iet, lai iet”

   “but let him go,” Aina said, “let him go, I also won't keep him, let (him) go, let (him) go”

   lai vēlam putnam laimīgu lidojumu! ― let us wish the bird a happy flight!

4. used to give a nuance of indecision or doubt, especially in a question should, could

   ko lai viņam saku, kādu padomu lai dodu? ― what should I say to him, what advice should I give?

   man vajadzīgs padoms; es nezinu, pie kā cita lai griežos

   I need advice; I don't know who else I could turn to (but you)

   es prasu zemei, kur meklēt lai eju ― I ask the earth, where should I go to look for (it)?

5. (colloquial) used to add strength to a word or expression, to link it more tightly to the rest of the sentence

   Soklēns gribēja savus viesus uzjautrināt ar pajāšanos; segli lai bija iegādāti

   Soklēns wanted to cheer his guests up with some (horse) riding; the saddles were even ready (already)

   vasarā, kad būs āboli, vai tad nāksi ciemos? ar medu lai pacienāšu, jā?

   during the summer, when there will be apples, maybe then you will come visit? and I will also treat you with honey, yes?

6. used to reinforce a word, highlighting it among others

   tūliņ svied tās meijas nost un meklē rīksti rokā! vai lopi līdz vakaram lai kūtī stāv?

   throw those boughs away right now and go get your rod! are the animals really going to stay in the barn till night?

7. used, sometimes with nu or ir, to indicate tolerance of, or agreement with, someone else

   protams, mājās būs vēl nepatīkamāka saruna, to es zinu pavisam skaidri, bet lai!

   of course, at home there will still be an unpleasant talk, I know that very well, and how (= boy do I)!

   “lai nu, lai nu, Birkenbaum,” Grīntāls mierināja ― “OK, OK, Birkenbaum,” Grīntāls comforted (him)

   “esi gan tu muļķa meitene”, Karlīne zobojās; “a, lai ir!” Annele spītīgi atcirta

   “you are indeed a stupid girl,” Karlīne mocked; “ah, so be it!” Annele snapped angrily back

   lai jau būtu ― let it be, so be it

Lingala

Adjective

lai

1. high, tall
2. long

Ma'di

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [là(j)ɨ́]
• Hyphenation: la‧i

Noun

lãí

1. gill

References

• Mairi Blackings; Nigel Fabb (2003), A Grammar of Ma'di, New York: Mouton de Gruyter, page 64

Maia

Noun

lai

1. beach

Malay

Etymology

Borrowed from Hokkien 梨 (lâi, “pear”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlaj/ [ˈlai̯]
• Rhymes: -ai̯

Noun

lai (Jawi spelling لاي, plural lai-lai or lai²)

1. pear

Further reading

• "lai" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017

Mandarin

Romanization

lai

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

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Maroon Spirit Language

Etymology

From English lie.

Noun

lai (plural lais)

1. lie (intentionally false statement)
   • 1983, Kenneth M. Bilby, “How the "older heads" talk: a Jamaican Maroon spirit possession language and its relationship to the creoles of Suriname and Sierra Leone”, in New West Indian Guide, →ISSN, page 72:

     if im a tel lais, wen im bin bak wi de go go na in sikin.

     If he is telling lies, when he comes back we will go to his body.

North Frisian

Alternative forms

• lei (Föhr-Amrum)
• läie (Goesharde)
• laie (Halligen)
• lade (Mooring)
• lii (Sylt)
• läde (Wiedingharde)

Etymology

From Old Frisian ledza, from Proto-West Germanic *liggjan, from Proto-Germanic *ligjaną (“to lie”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie”).

Verb

lai (Heligoland)

1. to lie; to be situated
2. to lay

Old French

Etymology 1

From Latin lacus.

Noun

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

1. pond, lake
2. trench, ditch
3. grave

Etymology 2

Origin uncertain. Cognate with Occitan lais. Usually conjectured to be either of Germanic or Celtic origin. If from the former, probably from Frankish *laik (“game, sport, song, music”), related to Old High German leich (“song, melody, music”); if the latter, akin to Old Irish loíd, from Proto-Celtic *loidā, from Proto-Indo-European *leyd- (“to let, let go”), however the Oxford English dictionary calls a Celtic origin "out of the question".

Noun

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

1. lai (Medieval text)

Descendants

• French: lai
• → Middle English: lay
  • English: lay

Etymology 3

From Vulgar Latin *laitus, from Frankish *laiþ (“hateful”).

Adjective

lai m (oblique and nominative feminine singular laie)

1. ugly

Descendants

• French: laid

Old Irish

Noun

lai

1. alternative spelling of laí

Pnar

Etymology

From Proto-Khasian *la:j ~ *la:c. The expected reflex is *le. Cognate with Khasi leit.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /laj/

Verb

lai

1. to go

Romanian

Alternative forms

• lău

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- compare 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 (compare the similar secondary senses of Spanish crudo, French écru).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /laj/

Adjective

lai m or n (feminine singular laie, plural lăi)

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

   Synonyms: negru, brumăriu

Declension

Declension of lai

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	lai		laie		lăi	lăi
	definite	laiul		laia		lăii	lăile
genitive- dative	indefinite	lai		lăi		lăi	lăi
	definite	laiului		lăii		lăilor	lăilor

Romansh

Etymology 1

From Latin lacus, from Proto-Italic *lakus, from Proto-Indo-European *lókus (“lake, pool”).

Noun

lai m (plural lais)

1. lake

Alternative forms

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

Etymology 2

From Latin lectus.

Noun

lai f (plural lais)

1. (Vallader) marriage, matrimony

Alternative forms

• lètg (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Surmiran)
• alach (Puter)
• letg (Sutsilvan)

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [laːj˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [laːj˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [laːj˧˧]

Etymology 1

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 騾 (“mule”, SV: la, loa).

Verb

lai

1. short for lai giống (“to crossbreed”)

Adjective

lai

1. of mixed blood; crossbred

   con lai ― crossbred offspring

Derived terms

• lai căng
• lai giống
• lai tạo
• lai tạp

Etymology 2

Noun

(classifier cái) lai • (來)

1. (Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam) hemline; turn-up

Etymology 3

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 釐 (“a weight unit”, SV: li).

Noun

lai

1. (Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam) hundredth part of a tael (equal to 0.378 g)

Etymology 4

Verb

lai

1. (Central Vietnam) to carry (someone) on one's bicycle or motorbike pillion; to give someone a lift on the bicycle or motorbike
2. to tow

Etymology 5

Noun

(classifier cây) lai

1. candlenut; candleberry (Aleurites moluccanus)

Etymology 6

Romanization

lai

1. Sino-Vietnamese reading of 來

Derived terms

• biên lai
• khứ lai
• lai lịch
• ngoại lai
• Như Lai
• trùng lai
• tương lai
• vãng lai
• vị lai

Anagrams

• lia

Welsh

Adjective

lai

1. soft mutation of llai (“smaller”)

Mutation

Mutated forms of llai

radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
llai	lai	unchanged	unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Zhuang

Etymology

From Proto-Tai *ʰlaːjᴬ (“many; much”), from Old Chinese 多 (OC *[t.l]ˤaj) (B-S). Cognate with Thai หลาย (lǎai), Northern Thai ᩉ᩠ᩃᩣ᩠ᨿ, Lao ຫຼາຍ (lāi), Lü ᦜᦻ (l̇aay), Khün ᩉ᩠ᩃᩣ᩠ᨿ, Shan လၢႆ (lǎai), Bouyei laail, Saek หล่าย. Compare Jizhao laːi²¹.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Zhuang) IPA^(key): /laːi˨˦/
• Tone numbers: lai¹
• Hyphenation: lai

Adjective

lai (Sawndip forms 𫯓 or 來 or 𡥧 or 𡃤, 1957–1982 spelling lai)

1. many, much, a lot

   Antonym: noix

Derived terms

• geijlai
• haujlai

Adverb

lai (Sawndip forms 𫯓 or 來 or 𡥧 or 𡃤, 1957–1982 spelling lai)

1. more
2. comparatively; more
3. too; exceedingly; very