meaning of lay
1. of Lie, to recline.
2. Of or pertaining to the laity, as distinct from the clergy; as, a lay person; a lay preacher; a lay brother.
3. Not educated or cultivated; ignorant.
4. Not belonging to, or emanating from, a particular profession; unprofessional; as, a lay opinion regarding the nature of a disease.
5. The laity; the common people.
6. A meadow. See Lea.
7. Faith; creed; religious profession.
8. A law.
9. An obligation; a vow.
10. A song; a simple lyrical poem; a ballad.
11. A melody; any musical utterance.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. To prepare; to make ready; to contrive; to provide; as, to lay a snare, an ambush, or a plan.
15. To spread on a surface; as, to lay plaster or paint.
16. To cause to be still; to calm; to allay; to suppress; to exorcise, as an evil spirit.
17. To cause to lie dead or dying.
18. To deposit, as a wager; to stake; to risk.
19. To bring forth and deposit; as, to lay eggs.
20. To apply; to put.
21. To impose, as a burden, suffering, or punishment; to assess, as a tax; as, to lay a tax on land.
22. To impute; to charge; to allege.
23. To impose, as a command or a duty; as, to lay commands on one.
24. To present or offer; as, to lay an indictment in a particular county; to lay a scheme before one.
25. To state; to allege; as, to lay the venue.
26. To point; to aim; as, to lay a gun.
27. 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.
28. To place and arrange (pages) for a form upon the imposing stone.
29. To place (new type) properly in the cases.
30. To produce and deposit eggs.
31. To take a position; to come or go; as, to lay forward; to lay aloft.
32. To lay a wager; to bet.
33. 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.
34. A wager.
35. A job, price, or profit.
36. 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.
37. A measure of yarn; a lea. See 1st Lea (a).
38. The lathe of a loom. See Lathe, 3.
39. A plan; a scheme.
40. of Lie
41. a narrative poem of popular origin
Related Words
lay | lay aside | lay away | lay claim | lay down | lay eyes on | lay figure | lay hands on | lay in | lay into | lay off | lay on the line | lay out | lay over | lay reader | lay to rest | lay up | lay waste to | lay witness | lay-by | lay-up | layabout | layby | layer | layer cake | layered | layering | layette | layia | layia platyglossa |
