Lay Definition
- To issue orders or instructions sharply or imperiously.
- To exaggerate or overstate something.
- To keep oneself or one's plans hidden.
- To bide one's time but remain ready for action.
- The nature, arrangement, or disposition of something.
- To accelerate a motor vehicle suddenly from a stop so that the wheels spin rapidly.
Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Lay
- lay down the law
- lay it on thick
- lay low
- lay of the land
- lay rubber
- lay waste
- lay about one
- lay a course
- lay aside
- lay away
- lay by
- lay down
- lay for
- lay in
- lay into
- lay it on (thick)
- lay low
- lay off
- lay on
- lay oneself open
- lay open
- lay out
- lay over
- lay something on someone
- lay to
- lay to rest
- lay up
Origin of Lay
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From Middle English layen, leggen, from Old English lecgan (“to lay"), from Proto-Germanic *lagjanÄ… (“to lay"), causative form of Proto-Germanic *ligjanÄ…, *legjanÄ… (“to lie, recline"), from Proto-Indo-European *legÊ°- (“to lie, recline"). Cognate with Dutch leggen (“to lay"), German legen (“to lay"), Norwegian ligge (“to lay"), Swedish lägga (“to lay"), Icelandic leggja (“to lay"), Albanian lag (“troop, band, war encampment").
From Wiktionary
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From Middle English lay, from Old French lai (“song, lyric, poem"), from Frankish *laik, *laih (“play, melody, song"), from Proto-Germanic *laikaz, *laikiz (“jump, play, dance, hymn"), from Proto-Indo-European *loig-, *(e)laiǵ- (“to jump, spring, play"). Akin to Old High German leih (“a play, skit, melody, song"), Middle High German leich (“piece of music, epic song played on a harp"), Old English lācan (“to move quickly, fence, sing"). See lake.
From Wiktionary
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From Middle English laie, lawe, from Old English lagu (“sea, flood, water, ocean"), from Proto-Germanic *laguz (“water, sea"), from Proto-Indo-European *lakw- (“water, body of water, lake"). Cognate with Icelandic lögur (“liquid, fluid, lake"), Latin lacus (“lake, hollow, hole").
From Wiktionary
Middle English from Old French lai from Late Latin lāicus from Greek lāikos of the people from lāos the people
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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Middle English leien from Old English lecgan legh- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Middle English from Old French lai
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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From Old French lai
From Wiktionary
From the verb.
From Wiktionary
Lay Is Also Mentioned In
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