'Laity' definitions:
Definition of 'laity'
(from WordNet)
noun
In Christianity, members of a religious community that do not have the priestly responsibilities of ordained clergy [syn: laity, temporalty] [ant: clergy]
Definition of 'Laity'
From: GCIDE
- Laity \La"i*ty\ (l[=a]"[i^]*t[y^]), n. [See Lay, a.]
- 1. The people, as distinguished from the clergy; the body of the people not in orders. [1913 Webster]
- A rising up of the laity against the sacerdotal caste. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]
- 2. The state of a layman. [Obs.] --Ayliffe. [1913 Webster]
- 3. Those who are not of a certain profession, as law or medicine, in distinction from those belonging to it. [1913 Webster]