lay

See also: Lay, láy, lấy, lẫy, and laþ

lay - English

Pronunciation

  • enPR: , IPA: /leɪ/
  • Homophones: lei, ley, le

Verb

lay (third-person singular simple present lays, present participle laying, simple past and past participle laid)

  1. (transitive) To place down in a position of rest, or in a horizontal position.
    • to lay a book on the table;   to lay a body in the grave
    • A shower of rain lays the dust.
  2. (transitive, archaic) To cause to subside or abate.
  3. (transitive) To prepare (a plan, project etc.); to set out, establish (a law, principle).
  4. (transitive) To install certain building materials, laying one thing on top of another.
    • lay brick;  lay flooring
  5. (transitive) To produce and deposit an egg.
    • the hen laid an egg
    • Did dinosaurs lay their eggs in a nest?
  6. (transitive) To bet (that something is or is not the case).
    • I'll lay that he doesn't turn up on Monday.
  7. (transitive) To deposit (a stake) as a wager; to stake; to risk.
  8. (transitive, slang) To have sex with.
  9. (nautical) To take a position; to come or go.
    • to lay forward;  to lay aloft
  10. (law) To state; to allege.
    • to lay the venue
  11. (military) To point; to aim.
    • to lay a gun
  12. (ropemaking) To put the strands of (a rope, a cable, etc.) in their proper places and twist or unite them.
    • to lay a cable or rope
  13. (printing) To place and arrange (pages) for a form upon the imposing stone.
  14. (printing) To place (new type) properly in the cases.
  15. To apply; to put.
  16. To impose (a burden, punishment, command, tax, etc.).
    • to lay a tax on land
  17. To impute; to charge; to allege.
  18. To present or offer.
    • to lay an indictment in a particular county
    • I have laid the facts of the matter before you.
  19. (intransitive, proscribed, see usage notes) To lie: to rest in a horizontal position on a surface.
    • I found him laying on the floor.

Usage notes

  • The transitive verb lay is often used instead of the corresponding intransitive verb lie, especially in informal settings (and not only in speaking). This happens with all their forms: The present tense and base (infinitive) forms lay(s) are used instead of the present tense and base forms lie(s), and the simple past and past participle of lay (both laid) are used instead of the corresponding forms of lie (lay and lain).
  • This intransitive use of the forms of lay instead of the forms of lie already started in Middle English, first appearing in the thirteenth century and becoming common in the fifteenth century. The usage was still chiefly limited to the present tense, and it seems that it was influenced by reflexive or passive use of lay (the wounded lay themselves / are laid on the beds).
  • Several factors contributed to the increased use of all forms of lay for those of lie. One is that the form lay was also originally used as both the base form of lay and as the simple past of lie. Another is the use of lay as a reflexive verb meaning “to go lie (down)”. In addition, the verb lay looks more complicated than it actually is: It is in fact a regular verb that only looks irregular due to the spelling convention of using laid instead of layed. A similar merger exists in some other Germanic languages, and the two verbs have merged completely in Afrikaans (to lie; to lay). In German, however, there is no confusion at all even in informal speech: legen, legte, gelegt ("lay, laid, laid") versus liegen, lag, gelegen ("lie, lay, lain") due to the clear differences between the regular forms of the transitive verb and the "irregular" (strong) forms of the intransitive verb.
  • Traditional grammars, schoolbooks, and style guides object to the common intransitive use of lay, and a certain stigma remains against the practice. Consequently the usage is only rarely found in carefully edited writing or in more formal spoken situations but common in speech and journalism, especially since the arrival of the Internet and the demise of copyediting (in other words journalists check their own writing).
  • Nautical use of lay as an intransitive verb is regarded as standard.
  • Last but not least, the continued use of two different verbs by some speakers despite common use of one verb also for the other starting already 8 centuries ago is a rare and remarkable exception in the development of any language in the world.

Conjugation

infinitive (to) lay
present tense past tense
1st-person singular lay laid
2nd-person singular lay, layest laid, laidst, laidest
3rd-person singular lays, layeth laid
plural lay
subjunctive lay laid
imperative lay
participles laying laid

Archaic or obsolete.

Derived terms

Translations

  • Bulgarian: залагам (bg) (zalagam), басирам се (basiram se)
  • Russian: держа́ть пари́ (ru) impf (deržátʹ parí), би́ться об закла́д (ru) impf (bítʹsja ob zaklád)

Noun

lay (countable and uncountable, plural lays)

  1. Arrangement or relationship; layout.
    • the lay of the land
  2. A share of the profits in a business.
  3. The direction a rope is twisted.
    • Worm and parcel with the lay; turn and serve the other way.
  4. (colloquial) A casual sexual partner.
    • What was I, just another lay you can toss aside as you go on to your next conquest?
  5. (colloquial) An act of sexual intercourse.
  6. (slang, archaic) A place or activity where someone spends a significant portion of their time.
  7. The laying of eggs.
    • The hens are off the lay at present.
  8. (obsolete) A layer.
  9. (obsolete) A basis or ground.

Synonyms

  • (casual sexual partner): see also casual sexual partner.

Derived terms

Translations


Noun

lay (plural lays)

  1. A lake.

Adjective

lay (comparative more lay, superlative most lay)

  1. Not belonging to the clergy, but associated with them.
    • They seemed more lay than clerical.
    • a lay preacher; a lay brother
  2. Non-professional; not being a member of an organized institution.
  3. (card games) Not trumps.
    • a lay suit
  4. (obsolete) Not educated or cultivated; ignorant.

Derived terms

Translations


Verb

lay

  1. simple past tense of lie when pertaining to position.
    • The baby lay in its crib and slept silently.

Derived terms


Alternative forms

Noun

lay (plural lays)

  1. A ballad or sung poem; a short poem or narrative, usually intended to be sung.
  2. A lyrical, narrative poem written in octosyllabic couplets that often deals with tales of adventure and romance.

Translations


Noun

lay (plural lays)

  1. (obsolete) A meadow; a lea.

Noun

lay (plural lays)

  1. (obsolete) A law.
  2. (obsolete) An obligation; a vow.

Verb

lay (third-person singular simple present lays, present participle laying, simple past and past participle laid)

  1. (Judaism, transitive) To don or put on (tefillin (phylacteries)).

Anagrams

lay - Anguthimri

Verb

lay

  1. (transitive, Mpakwithi) to carry

lay - Haitian Creole

Noun

lay

  1. garlic

lay - Lashi

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /laɪ̯/

Postposition

lay

  1. through
  2. across

Verb

lay

  1. to pass

lay - Malagasy

Noun

lay

  1. sail (a piece of fabric attached to a boat)
  2. tent

lay - Mauritian Creole

Noun

lay

  1. garlic

Noun

lay

  1. moth

lay - Middle English

Verb

lay

  1. Alternative form of leie: simple past of lien

lay - Moore

Pronunciation

IPA: /láj/

Noun

lay

  1. garlic (food)

lay - Seychellois Creole

Noun

lay

  1. garlic

Noun

lay

  1. moth

lay - Vietnamese

Pronunciation

Verb

lay

  1. to shake

Derived terms

Derived terms
Meaning and Definition of lay
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