lie

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See also: LIE, lié, líe, liè, liē, liě, li'e, and -lie

English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

A dog lying in the grass.

From Middle English lien, liggen, from Old English liċġan, from Proto-Germanic *ligjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ-. Cognate with West Frisian lizze, Dutch liggen, German liegen, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål ligge, Swedish ligga, Icelandic, Faroese and Norwegian Nynorsk liggja, Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌲𐌰𐌽 (ligan); and with Latin lectus (“bed”), Irish luighe, Russian лежа́ть (ležátʹ), Albanian lag (“troop, band, encampment”).

As a noun for position, the noun has the same etymology above as the verb.

Verb[edit]

lie (third-person singular simple present lies, present participle lying, simple past lay, past participle lain or (obsolete) lien)

  2. (intransitive) To rest in a horizontal position on a surface.
    The book lies on the table;  the snow lies on the roof;  he lies in his coffin
  3. (intransitive) To be placed or situated.
    • 1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, New York, N.Y.: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page vii:
      Hepaticology, outside the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere, still lies deep in the shadow cast by that ultimate "closet taxonomist," Franz Stephani—a ghost whose shadow falls over us all.
    • 2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52:
      From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.
  4. To abide; to remain for a longer or shorter time; to be in a certain state or condition.
    to lie waste; to lie fallow; to lie open; to lie hidden; to lie grieving; to lie under one's displeasure; to lie at the mercy of the waves
    The paper does not lie smooth on the wall.
  5. Used with in: to be or exist; to belong or pertain; to have an abiding place; to consist.
    • (Can we date this quote by Arthur Collier and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      Envy lies between beings equal in nature, though unequal in circumstances.
    • 1693, [John Locke], “§2016”, in Some Thoughts Concerning Education, London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], OCLC 1161614482:
      He that thinks that diversion may not lie in hard labour, forgets the early rising and hard riding of huntsmen.
  6. Used with with: to have sexual relations with.
  7. Used with on/upon: to be incumbent (on); to be the responsibility of a person.
  8. (archaic) To lodge; to sleep.
  9. To be still or quiet, like one lying down to rest.
  10. (law) To be sustainable; to be capable of being maintained.
    • (Can we date this quote by Ch. J. Parsons and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      An appeal lies in this case.
Usage notes[edit]

The verb lie in this sense is sometimes used interchangeably with the verb lay in informal spoken settings. Additionally, the past tense and past participle can both become laid, instead of lay and lain respectively, in less formal settings. These usages are common in speech but rarely found in edited writing or in more formal spoken situations.

Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
  • lay, a corresponding transitive version of this word
  • lees
  • lier
Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

lie (plural lies)

  1. (golf) The terrain and conditions surrounding the ball before it is struck.
  2. (disc golf) The terrain and conditions surrounding the disc before it is thrown.
  3. (medicine) The position of a fetus in the womb.
  4. A manner of lying; relative position.
  5. An animal's lair.
Translations[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle English lien (“to lie, tell a falsehood”), from Old English lēogan (“to lie”), from Proto-Germanic *leuganą (“to lie”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewgʰ- (“to lie, swear, bemoan”). Cognate with West Frisian lige (“to lie”), Low German legen, lögen (“to lie”), Dutch liegen (“to lie”), German lügen (“to lie”), Norwegian ljuge/lyge (“to lie”), Danish lyve (“to lie”), Swedish ljuga (“to lie”), and more distantly with Bulgarian лъжа (lǎža, “to lie”), Russian лгать (lgatʹ, “to lie”), ложь (ložʹ, “falsehood”).

Verb[edit]

lie (third-person singular simple present lies, present participle lying, simple past and past participle lied)

  2. (intransitive) To give false information intentionally with intent to deceive.
    When Pinocchio lies, his nose grows.
    If you are found to have lied in court, you could face a penalty.
    While a principle-based approach might claim that lying is always morally wrong, the casuist would argue that, depending upon the details of the case, lying might or might not be illegal or unethical. The casuist might conclude that a person is wrong to lie in legal testimony under oath, but might argue that lying actually is the best moral choice if the lie saves a life.WP
  3. (intransitive) To convey a false image or impression.
    Photographs often lie.
  4. (intransitive, colloquial) To be mistaken or unintentionally spread false information.
    Sorry, I haven't seen your keys anywhere...wait, I lied! They're right there on the coffee table.
Synonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

From Middle English lie, from Old English lyġe (“lie, falsehood”), from Proto-Germanic *lugiz (“lie, falsehood”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewgʰ- (“to tell lies, swear, complain”). Cognate with Old Saxon luggi (“a lie”), Old High German lugī, lugin (“a lie”) (German Lüge), Danish løgn (“a lie”), Bulgarian лъжа́ (lǎžá, “а lie”), Russian ложь (ložʹ, “а lie”).

Noun[edit]

lie (plural lies)

  1. An intentionally false statement; an intentional falsehood.
    I knew he was telling a lie by his facial expression.
  2. A statement intended to deceive, even if literally true; a half-truth
  3. Anything that misleads or disappoints.
    • (Can we date this quote by Trench and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      Wishing this lie of life was o'er.
    • The cake is a lie. - Portal
Synonyms[edit]
Antonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Finnish[edit]

Verb[edit]

lie

  1. (nonstandard) third-person singular potential present of olla
    Se on missä lie.
    It's somewhere. / I wonder where it is.
    Tai mitä lie ovatkaan
    Or whatever they are.

Usage notes[edit]

  • This form is chiefly used in direct and indirect questions.

Synonyms[edit]

  • (3rd-pers. sg. potent. pres. of olla; standard) lienee

Anagrams[edit]

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Probably from Transalpine Gaulish *liga (“silt, sediment”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie, to lay”).

Noun[edit]

lie f (plural lies)

  1. lees, dregs (of wine, of society)

Verb[edit]

lie

  1. inflection of lier:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative
    2. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    3. second-person singular imperative

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Mandarin[edit]

Romanization[edit]

lie (Zhuyin ˙ㄌㄧㄝ)

  1. Pinyin transcription of 咧

lie

  1. Nonstandard spelling of liē.
  2. Nonstandard spelling of lié.
  3. Nonstandard spelling of liě.
  4. Nonstandard spelling of liè.

Usage notes[edit]

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

Old French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Medieval Latin lias (“lees, dregs”) (descent via winemaking common in monasteries), from Gaulish *ligyā, *legyā (“silt, sediment”) (compare Welsh llai, Old Breton leh (“deposit, silt”)), from Proto-Celtic *legyā (“layer”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie”).

Noun[edit]

lie f (oblique plural lies, nominative singular lie, nominative plural lies)

  1. dregs; mostly solid, undesirable leftovers of a drink

Descendants[edit]

  • → English: lees

Old Irish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Celtic *līwanks (compare *līwos), from Proto-Indo-European *leh₁w- (“stone”) (compare Ancient Greek λᾶας (lâas, “stone”), Albanian lerë (“boulder”)).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

lie m (genitive lïac(c))

  1. a stone
    • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 4d15
      In Belzefuth: is béss didu ind lïacc benir il-béim friss, et intí do·thuit foir ɔ·boing a chnámi, intí fora tuit-som immurgu at·bail-side.
      The Beelzebub: it is the custom, then, of the stone that many blows are hit against it, and he who falls upon it breaks his bones; however, he whom it falls on perishes

Declension[edit]

Masculine k-stem
Singular Dual Plural
Nominative lie liic L liic
Vocative lie liic L lïaca
Accusative liic N liic L lïaca
Genitive lïac, lïacc lïac, lïacc lïacN, lïaccN
Dative liic L lïacaib lïacaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective:
  • H = triggers aspiration
  • L = triggers lenition
  • N = triggers nasalization

Descendants[edit]

Mutation[edit]

Old Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Nasalization
lie
also llie after a proclitic 		lie
pronounced with /l(ʲ)-/ 		lie
also llie after a proclitic
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading[edit]

Spanish[edit]

Verb[edit]

lie

  1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of liar.
  2. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present subjunctive form of liar.

Swedish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Swedish līe, lē, from Old Norse lé, from Proto-Germanic *lewô, from Proto-Indo-European *leu- (“to cut”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

lie c

  1. scythe; an instrument for mowing grass, grain, or the like.

Declension[edit]

Declension of lie 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative lie lien liar liarna
Genitive lies liens liars liarnas

Related terms[edit]

References[edit]

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