lay
lay Lexical Profile
lay Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To put or set something down carefully or gently on a surface.
"Please lay the blueprints flat on the drafting table so everyone can examine them."
To put down and set in position for use, such as bricks, pipes, carpet, or a building foundation.
"The construction crew will lay the concrete foundation as soon as the weather clears."
To produce and deposit an egg (of a female bird, insect, reptile, or amphibian).
"Sea turtles return to the same sandy beaches every year to lay their eggs."
To prepare and arrange a table with plates, cutlery, and napkins for a meal.
"The children helped lay the dining table before the dinner guests arrived."
To attribute, assign, or present something abstract, such as blame, a charge, a plan, or a wager.
"The inquiry refused to lay the blame for the accident on any single individual."
• adjective
Not having professional qualifications or specialized expert knowledge in a particular subject, such as medicine, science, or law.
"The doctor explained the complex diagnosis in simple terms that a lay audience could easily understand."
Not ordained into the clergy or belonging to the general congregation rather than the ecclesiastical hierarchy.
"The parish council relies heavily on lay volunteers to organize community charity events."
• noun
The general appearance, arrangement, or relative position of an area of land or a situation.
"The surveyors climbed the ridge to observe the lay of the land before plotting the new road."
A short narrative poem or lyric ballad intended to be sung, especially one composed by medieval minstrels.
"The medieval minstrel tuned his harp and recited an ancient lay about Arthurian knights."
Word Nuance & Usage
'Lay' is a transitive verb requiring a direct object (e.g., 'lay the book down') and its past tense is 'laid', whereas 'lie' is an intransitive verb meaning to recline (e.g., 'lie down to rest'), whose past tense also happens to be 'lay' (e.g., 'Yesterday I lay in bed').
• Rhymes for lay
Word Origin & Etymology
The verb 'lay' derives from Old English 'lecgan' (to place on the ground), the causative form of 'licgan' (to lie). The adjective meaning non-clerical comes via Old French 'lai' from Late Latin 'laicus' and Ancient Greek 'laikos' (of the people), whereas the poetic noun meaning a ballad stems separately from Old French 'lai'.