lay

lay

lay¹ [lā]

vt.

laid, laying [ME leyen, new formation < 3d pers. sing. of earlier leggen < OE lecgan, lit., to make lie (akin to Goth lagjan, Ger legen) < pt. base of OE licgan, to LIE¹]

1. to cause to come down or fall with force; knock down, as from an erect position [a blow laid him low]

2. to cause to lie; place or put so as to be in a resting or recumbent position; deposit: often with on or in [lay the pen on the desk]

3.

a) to put down or place (bricks, carpeting, etc.) in the correct position or way for a specific purpose

b) to cause to be situated in a particular place or condition [the scene is laid in France]

c) to establish or prepare as a basis or for use [to lay the groundwork]

d) to arrange the fuel in a fireplace for (a fire)

4. to place; put; set: esp. of something abstract [to lay emphasis on accuracy]

5. to produce and deposit (an egg or eggs)

6.

a) to cause to subside or settle [lay the dust]

b) to allay, suppress, overcome, or appease [to lay a ghost, lay one's fears]

7. to press or smooth down [to lay the nap of cloth]

8. to bet (a specified sum, etc.)

9. to impose or place (a tax, penalty, etc. on or upon)

10. to work out; devise [to lay plans]

11. to prepare (a table) for a meal; set with silverware, plates, etc.

12. to advance, present, or assert [to lay claim to property, to lay a matter before the voters]

13. to attribute; ascribe; charge; impute [to lay the blame on someone]

14. to arrange and twist together (strands) so as to form (rope, yarn, etc.)

☆ 15. Slang to have sexual intercourse with

16. Mil. to aim (a gun) by adjusting its direction and elevation

vi.

1. to lay an egg or eggs

2. to bet; wager

3. to lie; recline: a dialectal or substandard usage

4. Dial. to get ready; plan [laying to rob a store]

5. Naut. to go; proceed [all hands, lay aft to the fantail!]

n.

1. the way or position in which something is situated or arranged [the lay of the land ]

☆ 2. a share in the profits of some enterprise, esp. of a whaling expedition

3. the direction or amount of twist of the strands of a rope, cable, etc.

☆ 4. Informal terms of employment, a sale, etc.

☆ 5. Slang

a) an instance of sexual intercourse

b) a person regarded as a sexual partner

6. [Slang, Chiefly Brit.] one's occupation, esp. as a criminal

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lay about one

to deliver blows on all sides; strike out in every direction

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lay a course

1. Naut. to proceed in a certain direction without the need for tacking

2. to make plans to do something

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lay aside

1. to put to one side; lay out of the way

2. to save; lay away

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lay away

1. to set aside for future use; save

☆ 2. to set (merchandise) aside for future delivery

☆ 3. to bury: usually in the passive

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lay by

1. to save; lay away

2. Dial.

☆ a) to cultivate (a crop) for the last time

b) to harvest and store (a crop or crops)

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lay down

1. to sacrifice or give up (one's life)

2. to assert or declare emphatically

3. to bet; wager

4. to store away, as wine in a cellar

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lay for

Informal to be waiting to attack

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lay in

to get and store away

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lay into Slang

1. to attack and hit repeatedly; beat

2. to attack with words; scold

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lay it on thick or lay it on Informal

1. to exaggerate

2. to express praise effusively

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lay off

1. to put (a garment, etc.) aside

☆ 2. to put (an employee) out of work, esp. temporarily

3. to mark off the boundaries of

☆ 4. Slang

a) to cease

b) to stop criticizing, teasing, etc.

c) to stop for a rest

5. Slang to transfer part of (a bet) to another bookmaker so as to minimize risk: said of a bookmaker

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lay on

1. to spread on

2. to attack with force; strike repeatedly

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lay oneself open

to expose oneself to attack, blame, etc.

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lay open

1. to open up; cut open

2. to expose; uncover

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lay out

1. to spend

2. to arrange according to a plan

3. to spread out (clothes, equipment, etc.) ready for wear, inspection, etc.

4. to make (a corpse) ready for burial and for viewing, as at a wake

5. Slang to knock down or make unconscious

6. Slang to scold or censure (someone)

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lay over

☆ to stop a while in a place before going on

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lay something on someone Slang

1. to tell something to someone

2. to give something to someone

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lay to

1. to attribute to; credit to or blame on

2. to apply oneself with vigor

3. Naut.

a) to check a ship's forward motion, esp. by bringing the bow into the wind

b) to lie more or less stationary with the bow to the wind: now usually lie to

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lay to rest

to bury; inter

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lay up

1. to store for future use; hoard

2. to disable; confine to bed or the sickroom [laid up with the flu]

3. to take (a ship) out of operation, as by putting into a dry dock for repairs

lay² [lā]

vi.

pt. of LIE¹

lay³ [lā]

adj.

[ME lai < OFr < LL(Ec) laicus, lay, not priestly < Gr laikos < laos, the people]

1. of or consisting of the laity, or ordinary people, as distinguished from the clergy

2. not belonging to or connected with a given profession; nonprofessional [a legal handbook for lay readers]

lay⁴ [lā]

n.

[ME lai < OFr < Bret * laid, song, akin to Ir laod]

1. a short poem, esp. a narrative poem, orig. for singing as by a medieval minstrel

2. Obs. a song or melody