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What (who) is lay - definition
WIKIMEDIA DISAMBIGUATION PAGE
Lay (disambiguation); Lay (poetry); Lay (poem); LAY
lay
lay1
¦ verb (past and past participle laid)
1. put down, especially gently or carefully.
2. put down and set in position for use.
Brit. set cutlery on (a table) in preparation for a meal.
put the material for (a fire) in place.
prepare (a trap).
(lay something before) present material for consideration and action to (someone).
3. (with an abstract noun) put or place: lay the blame.
4. (of a female bird, reptile, etc.) produce (an egg) from inside the body.
5. stake (an amount of money) in a wager.
6. cause (a ghost) to stop appearing; exorcize.
7. vulgar slang have sexual intercourse with.
8. trim (a hedge) by cutting the branches half through, bending them down, and interweaving them.
9. Nautical follow (a specified course).
¦ noun
1. the general appearance of an area of land.
the position or direction in which something lies: roll the carpet against the lay of the nap.
2. vulgar slang a sexual partner or act of sexual intercourse.
3. the laying of eggs or the period during which they are laid.
Phrases
lay claim to assert one's right to or possession of.
lay hands on find and take possession of or acquire.
lay hold of (or on) catch at or gain possession of.
lay someone low reduce someone to inactivity, illness, or a lowly position.
lay something on thick (or with a trowel) informal grossly exaggerate or overemphasize something.
lay someone open to expose someone to the risk of.
lay someone/thing to rest
1. bury a body in a grave.
2. soothe and dispel fear, anxiety, etc.
Phrasal verbs
lay about Brit. beat or attack violently.
?(lay about one) strike out wildly on all sides.
lay something down
1. formulate and enact a rule or principle.
2. begin to construct a ship or railway.
3. build up a deposit of a substance.
4. store wine in a cellar.
5. pay or bet money.
6. informal record a piece of music.
lay something in/up build up a stock of something in case of need.
lay into informal attack violently.
lay off informal give up.
lay someone off discharge a worker temporarily or permanently because of a shortage of work.
lay something off
1. chiefly Soccer pass the ball to a teammate.
2. (of a bookmaker) insure against a loss resulting from a large bet by placing a similar bet with another bookmaker.
lay something on Brit. provide a service or amenity.
lay someone out
1. prepare someone for burial after death.
2. informal knock someone unconscious.
lay something out
1. spread something out to its full extent.
2. construct or arrange buildings or gardens according to a plan.
arrange and present material for printing and publication.
3. informal spend a sum of money.
lay someone up put someone out of action through illness or injury.
lay something up
1. see lay something in.
2. take a ship or other vehicle out of service.
Origin
OE lecgan, of Gmc origin; related to lie1.
Usage
The words lay and lie are often used incorrectly. Lay means, broadly, 'put something down', as in they are going to lay the carpet, whereas lie means 'be in a horizontal position to rest', as in why don't you lie down? The past tense and the past participle of lay is laid (they laid the carpet); the past tense of lie is lay (he lay on the floor) and the past participle is lain (she had lain awake for hours).
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lay2
¦ adjective
1. not ordained into or belonging to the clergy.
2. not having professional qualifications or expert knowledge.
Origin
ME: from OFr. lai, via late L. from Gk laikos, from laos 'people'.
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lay3
¦ noun
1. a short lyric or narrative poem meant to be sung.
2. literary a song.
Origin
ME: from OFr. lai, corresp. to Provencal lais, of unknown origin.
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lay4
past of lie1.
lay
I. VERB AND NOUN USES
(lays, laying, laid)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
Note: In standard English, the form 'lay' is also the past tense of the verb 'lie' in some meanings. In informal English, people sometimes use the word 'lay' instead of 'lie' in those meanings.
Please look at category 9 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1.
If you lay something somewhere, you put it there in a careful, gentle, or neat way.
Lay a sheet of newspaper on the floor...
My father's working bench was covered with a cloth and his coffin was laid there...
Mothers routinely lay babies on their backs to sleep.
VERB: V n prep/adv, V n prep/adv, V n prep/adv
2.
If you lay the table or lay the places at a table, you arrange the knives, forks, and other things that people need on the table before a meal. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use set
)
)
The butler always laid the table.
VERB: V n
3.
If you lay something such as carpets, cables, or foundations, you put them into their permanent position.
A man came to lay the saloon carpet...
Public utilities dig up roads to lay pipes.
VERB: V n, V n
4.
To lay a trap means to prepare it in order to catch someone or something.
They were laying a trap for the kidnapper.
VERB: V n
5.
When a female bird lays an egg, it produces an egg by pushing it out of its body.
My canary has laid an egg...
Freezing weather in spring hampered the hens' ability to lay.
VERB: V n, V
6.
Lay is used with some nouns to talk about making official preparations for something. For example, if you lay the basis for something or lay plans for it, you prepare it carefully.
Diplomats meeting in Chile have laid the groundwork for far-reaching environmental regulations...
The organisers meet in March to lay plans.
VERB: V n, V n
7.
Lay is used with some nouns in expressions about accusing or blaming someone. For example, if you lay the blame for a mistake on someone, you say it is their fault, or if the police lay charges against someone, they officially accuse that person of a crime.
She refused to lay the blame on any one party...
Police have decided not to lay charges over allegations of a telephone tapping operation.
VERB: V n prep, V n
8.
If you lay yourself open to criticism or attack, or if something lays you open to it, something you do makes it possible or likely that other people will criticize or attack you.
The party thereby lays itself open to charges of conflict of interest...
Such a statement could lay her open to ridicule.
PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n
9.
II. ADJECTIVE USES
1.
You use lay to describe people who are involved with a Christian church but are not members of the clergy or are not monks or nuns.
Edwards is a Methodist lay preacher and social worker.
ADJ: ADJ n
2.
You use lay to describe people who are not experts or professionals in a particular subject or activity.
It is difficult for a lay person to gain access to medical libraries...
ADJ: ADJ n
lay
I. v. a.
1.
Put, place, lay down.
2.
Impose, assess.
3.
Impute, charge, ascribe.
4.
Spread (on a surface).
5.
Prepare, set in order, get ready.
6.
Contrive, scheme, devise, concoct.
7.
Allay, quiet, calm, still, appease.
8.
Exorcise, drive away.
9.
Bet, stake, wager, risk, hazard.
10.
Produce, bring forth and deposit (as eggs).
11.
(Naut.) Depress, sink, sail away from so as to lose sight of.
12.
(Law.) Allege, state, name.
II. n.
(Rare.)
1.
Row, stratum, layer.
2.
Bet, wager, stake, pledge.
3.
Song, lyric.
4.
Lea, meadow, mead, pasture, grassy plain, grass land.
III. a.
Laic, laical.
Examples of use of lay
1. "Ken Lay passed away early this morning in Aspen," Lay family spokeswoman Kelly Kimberly said statement.
2. Tambourine Man," "Lay Lady Lay," "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and "Don‘t Think Twice, It‘s All Right."
3. "We could see where he‘d lay down, get up, lay down again," Wallin said.
4. Lay, 64, died of an apparent heart attack, according to a pastor at the Lay family‘s church in Houston, Texas.
5. Or perhaps, ‘I‘ll lay out all my private correspondence if the rest of you will lay out yours.