'Lay' definitions:

Definition of 'lay'

From: WordNet
adjective
Characteristic of those who are not members of the clergy; "set his collar in laic rather than clerical position"; "the lay ministry" [syn: laic, lay, secular]
adjective
Not of or from a profession; "a lay opinion as to the cause of the disease"
noun
A narrative song with a recurrent refrain [syn: ballad, lay]
noun
A narrative poem of popular origin [syn: ballad, lay]
verb
Put into a certain place or abstract location; "Put your things here"; "Set the tray down"; "Set the dogs on the scent of the missing children"; "Place emphasis on a certain point" [syn: put, set, place, pose, position, lay]
verb
Put in a horizontal position; "lay the books on the table"; "lay the patient carefully onto the bed" [syn: lay, put down, repose]
verb
Prepare or position for action or operation; "lay a fire"; "lay the foundation for a new health care plan"
verb
Lay eggs; "This hen doesn't lay"
verb
Impose as a duty, burden, or punishment; "lay a responsibility on someone"

Definition of 'Lay'

From: GCIDE
  • Lay \Lay\, a. [OF. lai, lais, prob. of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. laoi, laoidh, song, poem, OIr. laoidh poem, verse; but cf. also AS. l[=a]c play, sport, G. leich a sort of poem (cf. Lake to sport). ?.]
  • 1. A song; a simple lyrical poem; a ballad. --Spenser. Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. A melody; any musical utterance. [1913 Webster]
  • The throstle cock made eke his lay. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Lay'

From: GCIDE
  • Lay \Lay\ (l[=a]), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Laid (l[=a]d); p. pr. & vb. n. Laying.] [OE. leggen, AS. lecgan, causative, fr. licgan to lie; akin to D. leggen, G. legen, Icel. leggja, Goth. lagjan. See Lie to be prostrate.]
  • 1. To cause to lie down, to be prostrate, or to lie against something; to put or set down; to deposit; as, to lay a book on the table; to lay a body in the grave; a shower lays the dust. [1913 Webster]
  • A stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den. --Dan. vi. 17. [1913 Webster]
  • Soft on the flowery herb I found me laid. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. To place in position; to establish firmly; to arrange with regularity; to dispose in ranks or tiers; as, to lay a corner stone; to lay bricks in a wall; to lay the covers on a table. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. To prepare; to make ready; to contrive; to provide; as, to lay a snare, an ambush, or a plan. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. To spread on a surface; as, to lay plaster or paint. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. To cause to be still; to calm; to allay; to suppress; to exorcise, as an evil spirit. [1913 Webster]
  • After a tempest when the winds are laid. --Waller. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. To cause to lie dead or dying. [1913 Webster]
  • Brave C[ae]neus laid Ortygius on the plain, The victor C[ae]neus was by Turnus slain. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • 7. To deposit, as a wager; to stake; to risk. [1913 Webster]
  • I dare lay mine honor He will remain so. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 8. To bring forth and deposit; as, to lay eggs. [1913 Webster]
  • 9. To apply; to put. [1913 Webster]
  • She layeth her hands to the spindle. --Prov. xxxi. 19. [1913 Webster]
  • 10. To impose, as a burden, suffering, or punishment; to assess, as a tax; as, to lay a tax on land. [1913 Webster]
  • The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. --Is. liii. 6. [1913 Webster]
  • 11. To impute; to charge; to allege. [1913 Webster]
  • God layeth not folly to them. --Job xxiv. 12. [1913 Webster]
  • Lay the fault on us. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 12. To impose, as a command or a duty; as, to lay commands on one. [1913 Webster]
  • 13. To present or offer; as, to lay an indictment in a particular county; to lay a scheme before one. [1913 Webster]
  • 14. (Law) To state; to allege; as, to lay the venue. --Bouvier. [1913 Webster]
  • 15. (Mil.) To point; to aim; as, to lay a gun. [1913 Webster]
  • 16. (Rope Making) To put the strands of (a rope, a cable, etc.) in their proper places and twist or unite them; as, to lay a cable or rope. [1913 Webster]
  • 17. (Print.) (a) To place and arrange (pages) for a form upon the imposing stone. (b) To place (new type) properly in the cases. [1913 Webster]
  • To lay asleep, to put sleep; to make unobservant or careless. --Bacon.
  • To lay bare, to make bare; to strip. [1913 Webster]
  • And laid those proud roofs bare to summer's rain. --Byron.
  • To lay before, to present to; to submit for consideration; as, the papers are laid before Congress.
  • To lay by. (a) To save. (b) To discard. [1913 Webster]
  • Let brave spirits . . . not be laid by. --Bacon.
  • To lay by the heels, to put in the stocks. --Shak.
  • To lay down. (a) To stake as a wager. (b) To yield; to relinquish; to surrender; as, to lay down one's life; to lay down one's arms. (c) To assert or advance, as a proposition or principle.
  • To lay forth. (a) To extend at length; (reflexively) to exert one's self; to expatiate. [Obs.] (b) To lay out (as a corpse). [Obs.] --Shak.
  • To lay hands on, to seize.
  • To lay hands on one's self, or {To lay violent hands on one's self}, to injure one's self; specif., to commit suicide.
  • To lay heads together, to consult.
  • To lay hold of, or To lay hold on, to seize; to catch.
  • To lay in, to store; to provide.
  • To lay it on, to apply without stint. --Shak.
  • To lay it on thick, to flatter excessively.
  • To lay on, to apply with force; to inflict; as, to lay on blows.
  • To lay on load, to lay on blows; to strike violently. [Obs. or Archaic]
  • To lay one's self out, to strive earnestly. [1913 Webster]
  • No selfish man will be concerned to lay out himself for the good of his country. --Smalridge. [1913 Webster]
  • To lay one's self open to, to expose one's self to, as to an accusation.
  • To lay open, to open; to uncover; to expose; to reveal.
  • To lay over, to spread over; to cover.
  • To lay out. (a) To expend. --Macaulay. (b) To display; to discover. (c) To plan in detail; to arrange; as, to lay out a garden. (d) To prepare for burial; as, to lay out a corpse. (e) To exert; as, to lay out all one's strength.
  • To lay siege to. (a) To besiege; to encompass with an army. (b) To beset pertinaciously.
  • To lay the course (Naut.), to sail toward the port intended without jibing.
  • To lay the land (Naut.), to cause it to disappear below the horizon, by sailing away from it.
  • To lay to (a) To charge upon; to impute. (b) To apply with vigor. (c) To attack or harass. [Obs.] --Knolles. (d) (Naut.) To check the motion of (a vessel) and cause it to be stationary.
  • To lay to heart, to feel deeply; to consider earnestly.
  • To lay under, to subject to; as, to lay under obligation or restraint.
  • To lay unto. (a) Same as To lay to (above). (b) To put before. --Hos. xi. 4.
  • To lay up. (a) To store; to reposit for future use. (b) To confine; to disable. (c) To dismantle, and retire from active service, as a ship.
  • To lay wait for, to lie in ambush for.
  • To lay waste, to destroy; to make desolate; as, to lay waste the land. [1913 Webster]
  • Syn: See Put, v. t., and the Note under 4th Lie. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Lay'

From: GCIDE
  • Lay \Lay\, v. i.
  • 1. To produce and deposit eggs. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. (Naut.) To take a position; to come or go; as, to lay forward; to lay aloft. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. To lay a wager; to bet. [1913 Webster]
  • To lay about, or To lay about one, to strike vigorously in all directions. --J. H. Newman.
  • To lay at, to strike or strike at. --Spenser.
  • To lay for, to prepare to capture or assault; to lay wait for. [Colloq.] --Bp Hall.
  • To lay in for, to make overtures for; to engage or secure the possession of. [Obs.] "I have laid in for these." --Dryden.
  • To lay on, to strike; to beat; to attack. --Shak.
  • To lay out, to purpose; to plan; as, he lays out to make a journey. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Lay'

From: GCIDE
  • Lay \Lay\, n. The laity; the common people. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
  • The learned have no more privilege than the lay. --B. Jonson. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Lay'

From: GCIDE
  • Lay \Lay\, n. A meadow. See Lea. [Obs.] --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Lay'

From: GCIDE
  • Lay \Lay\, imp. of Lie, to recline. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Lay'

From: GCIDE
  • Lay \Lay\, a. [F. lai, L. laicus, Gr. ? of or from the people, lay, from ?, ?, people. Cf. Laic.]
  • 1. Of or pertaining to the laity, as distinct from the clergy; as, a lay person; a lay preacher; a lay brother. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. Not educated or cultivated; ignorant. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
  • 3. Not belonging to, or emanating from, a particular profession; unprofessional; as, a lay opinion regarding the nature of a disease. [1913 Webster]
  • Lay baptism (Eccl.), baptism administered by a lay person. --F. G. Lee.
  • Lay brother (R. C. Ch.), one received into a convent of monks under the three vows, but not in holy orders.
  • Lay clerk (Eccl.), a layman who leads the responses of the congregation, etc., in the church service. --Hook.
  • Lay days (Com.), time allowed in a charter party for taking in and discharging cargo. --McElrath.
  • Lay elder. See 2d Elder, 3, note. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Lay'

From: GCIDE
  • Lay \Lay\, n. [OF. lei faith, law, F. loi law. See Legal.]
  • 1. Faith; creed; religious profession. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
  • Of the sect to which that he was born He kept his lay, to which that he was sworn. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. A law. [Obs.] "Many goodly lays." --Spenser. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. An obligation; a vow. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
  • They bound themselves by a sacred lay and oath. --Holland. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Lay'

From: GCIDE
  • Lay \Lay\, n.
  • 1. That which lies or is laid or is conceived of as having been laid or placed in its position; a row; a stratum; a layer; as, a lay of stone or wood. --Addison. [1913 Webster]
  • A viol should have a lay of wire strings below. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
  • Note: The lay of a rope is right-handed or left-handed according to the hemp or strands are laid up. See Lay, v. t., 16. The lay of land is its topographical situation, esp. its slope and its surface features. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. A wager. "My fortunes against any lay worth naming." [1913 Webster]
  • 3. (a) A job, price, or profit. [Prov. Eng.] --Wright. (b) A share of the proceeds or profits of an enterprise; as, when a man ships for a whaling voyage, he agrees for a certain lay. [U. S.] [1913 Webster]
  • 4. (Textile Manuf.) (a) A measure of yarn; a lea. See 1st Lea (a) . (b) The lathe of a loom. See Lathe, 3. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. A plan; a scheme. [Slang] --Dickens. [1913 Webster]
  • Lay figure. (a) A jointed model of the human body that may be put in any attitude; -- used for showing the disposition of drapery, etc. (b) A mere puppet; one who serves the will of others without independent volition.
  • Lay race, that part of a lay on which the shuttle travels in weaving; -- called also shuttle race.
  • the lay of the land, the general situation or state of affairs.
  • to get the lay of the land, to learn the general situation or state of affairs, especially in preparation for action. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Lay'

From: GCIDE
  • Lie \Lie\, v. i. [imp. Lay (l[=a]); p. p. Lain (l[=a]n), (Lien (l[imac]"[e^]n), Obs.); p. pr. & vb. n. Lying.] [OE. lien, liggen, AS. licgan; akin to D. liggen, OHG. ligen, licken, G. liegen, Icel. liggja, Sw. ligga, Dan. ligge, Goth. ligan, Russ. lejate, L. lectus bed, Gr. le`chos bed, le`xasqai to lie. Cf. Lair, Law, Lay, v. t., Litter, Low, adj.]
  • 1. To rest extended on the ground, a bed, or any support; to be, or to put one's self, in an horizontal position, or nearly so; to be prostate; to be stretched out; -- often with down, when predicated of living creatures; as, the book lies on the table; the snow lies on the roof; he lies in his coffin. [1913 Webster]
  • The watchful traveler . . . Lay down again, and closed his weary eyes. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. To be situated; to occupy a certain place; as, Ireland lies west of England; the meadows lie along the river; the ship lay in port. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. To abide; to remain for a longer or shorter time; to be in a certain state or condition; as, to lie waste; to lie fallow; to lie open; to lie hid; 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. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. To be or exist; to belong or pertain; to have an abiding place; to consist; -- with in. [1913 Webster]
  • Envy lies between beings equal in nature, though unequal in circumstances. --Collier. [1913 Webster]
  • He that thinks that diversion may not lie in hard labor, forgets the early rising and hard riding of huntsmen. --Locke. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. To lodge; to sleep. [1913 Webster]
  • Whiles I was now trifling at home, I saw London, . . . where I lay one night only. --Evelyn. [1913 Webster]
  • Mr. Quinion lay at our house that night. --Dickens. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. To be still or quiet, like one lying down to rest. [1913 Webster]
  • The wind is loud and will not lie. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 7. (Law) To be sustainable; to be capable of being maintained. "An appeal lies in this case." --Parsons. [1913 Webster]
  • Note: Through ignorance or carelessness speakers and writers often confuse the forms of the two distinct verbs lay and lie. Lay is a transitive verb, and has for its preterit laid; as, he told me to lay it down, and I laid it down. Lie is intransitive, and has for its preterit lay; as, he told me to lie down, and I lay down. Some persons blunder by using laid for the preterit of lie; as, he told me to lie down, and I laid down. So persons often say incorrectly, the ship laid at anchor; they laid by during the storm; the book was laying on the shelf, etc. It is only necessary to remember, in all such cases, that laid is the preterit of lay, and not of lie. [1913 Webster]
  • To lie along the shore (Naut.), to coast, keeping land in sight.
  • To lie at the door of, to be imputable to; as, the sin, blame, etc., lies at your door.
  • To lie at the heart, to be an object of affection, desire, or anxiety. --Sir W. Temple.
  • To lie at the mercy of, to be in the power of.
  • To lie by. (a) To remain with; to be at hand; as, he has the manuscript lying by him. (b) To rest; to intermit labor; as, we lay by during the heat of the day.
  • To lie hard or To lie heavy, to press or weigh; to bear hard.
  • To lie in, to be in childbed; to bring forth young.
  • To lie in one, to be in the power of; to belong to. "As much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." --Rom. xii. 18.
  • To lie in the way, to be an obstacle or impediment.
  • To lie in wait, to wait in concealment; to lie in ambush.
  • To lie on or To lie upon. (a) To depend on; as, his life lies on the result. (b) To bear, rest, press, or weigh on.
  • To lie low, to remain in concealment or inactive. [Slang]
  • To lie on hand,
  • To lie on one's hands, to remain unsold or unused; as, the goods are still lying on his hands; they have too much time lying on their hands.
  • To lie on the head of, to be imputed to. [1913 Webster]
  • What he gets more of her than sharp words, let it lie on my head. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • To lie over. (a) To remain unpaid after the time when payment is due, as a note in bank. (b) To be deferred to some future occasion, as a resolution in a public deliberative body.
  • To lie to (Naut.), to stop or delay; especially, to head as near the wind as possible as being the position of greatest safety in a gale; -- said of a ship. Cf. {To bring to}, under Bring.
  • To lie under, to be subject to; to suffer; to be oppressed by.
  • To lie with. (a) To lodge or sleep with. (b) To have sexual intercourse with. (c) To belong to; as, it lies with you to make amends. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'lay'

From: GCIDE
  • [1913 Webster]
  • 3. The movable swing frame of a loom, carrying the reed for separating the warp threads and beating up the weft; -- called also lay and batten. [1913 Webster]
  • Blanchard lathe, a lathe for turning irregular forms after a given pattern, as lasts, gunstocks, and the like.
  • Drill lathe, or Speed lathe, a small lathe which, from its high speed, is adapted for drilling; a hand lathe.
  • Engine lathe, a turning lathe in which the cutting tool has an automatic feed; -- used chiefly for turning and boring metals, cutting screws, etc.
  • Foot lathe, a lathe which is driven by a treadle worked by the foot.
  • Geometric lathe. See under Geometric
  • Hand lathe, a lathe operated by hand; a power turning lathe without an automatic feed for the tool.
  • Slide lathe, an engine lathe.
  • Throw lathe, a small lathe worked by one hand, while the cutting tool is held in the other. [1913 Webster]

Synonyms of 'lay'

From: Moby Thesaurus

Words containing 'Lay'