characteristic of those who are not members of the clergy
<adj.all> set his collar in laic rather than clerical position the lay ministry
not of or from a profession
<adj.all> a lay opinion as to the cause of the disease
Lay \Lay\, imp. of {Lie}, to recline.
Lay \Lay\, a. [F. lai, L. laicus, Gr. ? of or from the people, lay, from ?, ?, people. Cf. {Laic}.] 1. Of or pertaining to the laity, as distinct from the clergy; as, a lay person; a lay preacher; a lay brother.
2. Not educated or cultivated; ignorant. [Obs.]
3. Not belonging to, or emanating from, a particular profession; unprofessional; as, a lay opinion regarding the nature of a disease.
{Lay baptism} (Eccl.), baptism administered by a lay person. --F. G. Lee.
{Lay brother} (R. C. Ch.), one received into a convent of monks under the three vows, but not in holy orders.
{Lay clerk} (Eccl.), a layman who leads the responses of the congregation, etc., in the church service. --Hook.
{Lay days} (Com.), time allowed in a charter party for taking in and discharging cargo. --McElrath.
{Lay elder}. See 2d {Elder}, 3, note.
Lay \Lay\, a. [OF. lai, lais, prob. of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. laoi, laoidh, song, poem, OIr. laoidh poem, verse; but cf. also AS. l[=a]c play, sport, G. leich a sort of poem (cf. {Lake} to sport). ?.] 1. A song; a simple lyrical poem; a ballad. --Spenser. Sir W. Scott.
2. A melody; any musical utterance.
The throstle cock made eke his lay. --Chaucer.
Lay \Lay\ (l[=a]), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Laid} (l[=a]d); p. pr. & vb. n. {Laying}.] [OE. leggen, AS. lecgan, causative, fr. licgan to lie; akin to D. leggen, G. legen, Icel. leggja, Goth. lagjan. See {Lie} to be prostrate.] 1. 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.
A stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den. --Dan. vi. 17.
Soft on the flowery herb I found me laid. --Milton.
2. 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.
3. To prepare; to make ready; to contrive; to provide; as, to lay a snare, an ambush, or a plan.
4. To spread on a surface; as, to lay plaster or paint.
5. To cause to be still; to calm; to allay; to suppress; to exorcise, as an evil spirit.
After a tempest when the winds are laid. --Waller.
6. To cause to lie dead or dying.
Brave C[ae]neus laid Ortygius on the plain, The victor C[ae]neus was by Turnus slain. --Dryden.
7. To deposit, as a wager; to stake; to risk.
I dare lay mine honor He will remain so. --Shak.
8. To bring forth and deposit; as, to lay eggs.
9. To apply; to put.
She layeth her hands to the spindle. --Prov. xxxi. 19.
10. To impose, as a burden, suffering, or punishment; to assess, as a tax; as, to lay a tax on land.
The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. --Is. liii. 6.
11. To impute; to charge; to allege.
God layeth not folly to them. --Job xxiv. 12.
Lay the fault on us. --Shak.
12. To impose, as a command or a duty; as, to lay commands on one.
13. To present or offer; as, to lay an indictment in a particular county; to lay a scheme before one.
14. (Law) To state; to allege; as, to lay the venue. --Bouvier.
15. (Mil.) To point; to aim; as, to lay a gun.
16. (Rope Making) 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.
17. (Print.) (a) To place and arrange (pages) for a form upon the imposing stone. (b) To place (new type) properly in the cases.
{To lay asleep}, to put sleep; to make unobservant or careless. --Bacon.
{To lay bare}, to make bare; to strip.
And laid those proud roofs bare to summer's rain. --Byron.
{To lay before}, to present to; to submit for consideration; as, the papers are laid before Congress.
{To lay by}. (a) To save. (b) To discard.
Let brave spirits . . . not be laid by. --Bacon.
{To lay by the heels}, to put in the stocks. --Shak.
{To lay down}. (a) To stake as a wager. (b) To yield; to relinquish; to surrender; as, to lay down one's life; to lay down one's arms. (c) To assert or advance, as a proposition or principle.
{To lay forth}. (a) To extend at length; (reflexively) to exert one's self; to expatiate. [Obs.] (b) To lay out (as a corpse). [Obs.] --Shak.
{To lay hands on}, to seize.
{To lay hands on one's self}, or {To lay violent hands on one's self}, to injure one's self; specif., to commit suicide.
{To lay heads together}, to consult.
{To lay hold of}, or {To lay hold on}, to seize; to catch.
{To lay in}, to store; to provide.
{To lay it on}, to apply without stint. --Shak.
{To lay it on thick}, to flatter excessively.
{To lay on}, to apply with force; to inflict; as, to lay on blows.
{To lay on load}, to lay on blows; to strike violently. [Obs. or Archaic]
{To lay one's self out}, to strive earnestly.
No selfish man will be concerned to lay out himself for the good of his country. --Smalridge.
{To lay one's self open to}, to expose one's self to, as to an accusation.
{To lay open}, to open; to uncover; to expose; to reveal.
{To lay over}, to spread over; to cover.
{To lay out}. (a) To expend. --Macaulay. (b) To display; to discover. (c) To plan in detail; to arrange; as, to lay out a garden. (d) To prepare for burial; as, to lay out a corpse. (e) To exert; as, to lay out all one's strength.
{To lay siege to}. (a) To besiege; to encompass with an army. (b) To beset pertinaciously.
{To lay the course} (Naut.), to sail toward the port intended without jibing.
{To lay the land} (Naut.), to cause it to disappear below the horizon, by sailing away from it.
{To lay to} (a) To charge upon; to impute. (b) To apply with vigor. (c) To attack or harass. [Obs.] --Knolles. (d) (Naut.) To check the motion of (a vessel) and cause it to be stationary.
{To lay to heart}, to feel deeply; to consider earnestly.
{To lay under}, to subject to; as, to lay under obligation or restraint.
{To lay unto}. (a) Same as {To lay to} (above). (b) To put before. --Hos. xi. 4.
{To lay up}. (a) To store; to reposit for future use. (b) To confine; to disable. (c) To dismantle, and retire from active service, as a ship.
{To lay wait for}, to lie in ambush for.
{To lay waste}, to destroy; to make desolate; as, to lay waste the land.
Syn: See {Put}, v. t., and the Note under 4th {Lie}.
Lay \Lay\, n. The laity; the common people. [Obs.]
The learned have no more privilege than the lay. --B. Jonson.
Lay \Lay\, n. A meadow. See {Lea}. [Obs.] --Dryden.
Lay \Lay\, n. [OF. lei faith, law, F. loi law. See {Legal}.] 1. Faith; creed; religious profession. [Obs.]
Of the sect to which that he was born He kept his lay, to which that he was sworn. --Chaucer.
2. A law. [Obs.] ``Many goodly lays.'' --Spenser.
3. An obligation; a vow. [Obs.]
They bound themselves by a sacred lay and oath. --Holland.
Lay \Lay\, v. i. 1. To produce and deposit eggs.
2. (Naut.) To take a position; to come or go; as, to lay forward; to lay aloft.
3. To lay a wager; to bet.
{To lay about}, or {To lay about one}, to strike vigorously in all directions. --J. H. Newman.
{To lay at}, to strike or strike at. --Spenser.
{To lay for}, to prepare to capture or assault; to lay wait for. [Colloq.] --Bp Hall.
{To lay in for}, to make overtures for; to engage or secure the possession of. [Obs.] ``I have laid in for these.'' --Dryden.
{To lay on}, to strike; to beat; to attack. --Shak.
{To lay out}, to purpose; to plan; as, he lays out to make a journey.
Lay \Lay\, n. 1. 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. --Addison.
A viol should have a lay of wire strings below. --Bacon.
Note: The lay of a rope is right-handed or left-handed according to the hemp or strands are laid up. See {Lay}, v. t., 16. The lay of land is its topographical situation, esp. its slope and its surface features.
2. A wager. ``My fortunes against any lay worth naming.''
3. (a) A job, price, or profit. [Prov. Eng.] --Wright. (b) 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. [U. S.]
4. (Textile Manuf.) (a) A measure of yarn; a lea. See 1st {Lea} (a) . (b) The lathe of a loom. See {Lathe}, 3.
5. A plan; a scheme. [Slang] --Dickens.
{Lay figure}. (a) A jointed model of the human body that may be put in any attitude; -- used for showing the disposition of drapery, etc. (b) A mere puppet; one who serves the will of others without independent volition.
{Lay race}, that part of a lay on which the shuttle travels in weaving; -- called also {shuttle race}.
{the lay of the land}, the general situation or state of affairs.
{to get the lay of the land}, to learn the general situation or state of affairs, especially in preparation for action.
Lie \Lie\, v. i. [imp. {Lay} (l[=a]); p. p. {Lain} (l[=a]n), ({Lien} (l[imac]"[e^]n), Obs.); p. pr. & vb. n. {Lying}.] [OE. lien, liggen, AS. licgan; akin to D. liggen, OHG. ligen, licken, G. liegen, Icel. liggja, Sw. ligga, Dan. ligge, Goth. ligan, Russ. lejate, L. lectus bed, Gr. le`chos bed, le`xasqai to lie. Cf. {Lair}, {Law}, {Lay}, v. t., {Litter}, {Low}, adj.] 1. To rest extended on the ground, a bed, or any support; to be, or to put one's self, in an horizontal position, or nearly so; to be prostate; to be stretched out; -- often with down, when predicated of living creatures; as, the book lies on the table; the snow lies on the roof; he lies in his coffin.
The watchful traveler . . . Lay down again, and closed his weary eyes. --Dryden.
2. To be situated; to occupy a certain place; as, Ireland lies west of England; the meadows lie along the river; the ship lay in port.
3. To abide; to remain for a longer or shorter time; to be in a certain state or condition; as, to lie waste; to lie fallow; to lie open; to lie hid; to lie grieving; to lie under one's displeasure; to lie at the mercy of the waves; the paper does not lie smooth on the wall.
4. To be or exist; to belong or pertain; to have an abiding place; to consist; -- with in.
Envy lies between beings equal in nature, though unequal in circumstances. --Collier.
He that thinks that diversion may not lie in hard labor, forgets the early rising and hard riding of huntsmen. --Locke.
5. To lodge; to sleep.
Whiles I was now trifling at home, I saw London, . . . where I lay one night only. --Evelyn.
Mr. Quinion lay at our house that night. --Dickens.
6. To be still or quiet, like one lying down to rest.
The wind is loud and will not lie. --Shak.
7. (Law) To be sustainable; to be capable of being maintained. ``An appeal lies in this case.'' --Parsons.
Note: Through ignorance or carelessness speakers and writers often confuse the forms of the two distinct verbs lay and lie. Lay is a transitive verb, and has for its preterit laid; as, he told me to lay it down, and I laid it down. Lie is intransitive, and has for its preterit lay; as, he told me to lie down, and I lay down. Some persons blunder by using laid for the preterit of lie; as, he told me to lie down, and I laid down. So persons often say incorrectly, the ship laid at anchor; they laid by during the storm; the book was laying on the shelf, etc. It is only necessary to remember, in all such cases, that laid is the preterit of lay, and not of lie.
{To lie along the shore} (Naut.), to coast, keeping land in sight.
{To lie at the door of}, to be imputable to; as, the sin, blame, etc., lies at your door.
{To lie at the heart}, to be an object of affection, desire, or anxiety. --Sir W. Temple.
{To lie at the mercy of}, to be in the power of.
{To lie by}. (a) To remain with; to be at hand; as, he has the manuscript lying by him. (b) To rest; to intermit labor; as, we lay by during the heat of the day.
{To lie hard} or {To lie heavy}, to press or weigh; to bear hard.
{To lie in}, to be in childbed; to bring forth young.
{To lie in one}, to be in the power of; to belong to. ``As much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.'' --Rom. xii. 18.
{To lie in the way}, to be an obstacle or impediment.
{To lie in wait}, to wait in concealment; to lie in ambush.
{To lie on} or {To lie upon}. (a) To depend on; as, his life lies on the result. (b) To bear, rest, press, or weigh on.
{To lie low}, to remain in concealment or inactive. [Slang]
{To lie on hand},
{To lie on one's hands}, to remain unsold or unused; as, the goods are still lying on his hands; they have too much time lying on their hands.
{To lie on the head of}, to be imputed to.
What he gets more of her than sharp words, let it lie on my head. --Shak.
{To lie over}. (a) To remain unpaid after the time when payment is due, as a note in bank. (b) To be deferred to some future occasion, as a resolution in a public deliberative body.
{To lie to} (Naut.), to stop or delay; especially, to head as near the wind as possible as being the position of greatest safety in a gale; -- said of a ship. Cf. {To bring to}, under {Bring}.
{To lie under}, to be subject to; to suffer; to be oppressed by.
{To lie with}. (a) To lodge or sleep with. (b) To have sexual intercourse with. (c) To belong to; as, it lies with you to make amends.
Lathe \Lathe\ (l[=a][th]), n. [OE. lathe a granary; akin to G. lade a chest, Icel. hla[eth]a a storehouse, barn; but cf. also Icel. l["o][eth] a smith's lathe. Senses 2 and 3 are perh. of the same origin as lathe a granary, the original meaning being, a frame to hold something. If so, the word is from an older form of E. lade to load. See {Lade} to load.] 1. A granary; a barn. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
2. (Mach.) A machine for turning, that is, for shaping articles of wood, metal, or other material, by causing them to revolve while acted upon by a cutting tool.
3. The movable swing frame of a loom, carrying the reed for separating the warp threads and beating up the weft; -- called also {lay} and {batten}.
{Blanchard lathe}, a lathe for turning irregular forms after a given pattern, as lasts, gunstocks, and the like.
{Drill lathe}, or {Speed lathe}, a small lathe which, from its high speed, is adapted for drilling; a hand lathe.
{Engine lathe}, a turning lathe in which the cutting tool has an automatic feed; -- used chiefly for turning and boring metals, cutting screws, etc.
{Foot lathe}, a lathe which is driven by a treadle worked by the foot.
{Geometric lathe}. See under {Geometric}
{Hand lathe}, a lathe operated by hand; a power turning lathe without an automatic feed for the tool.
{Slide lathe}, an engine lathe.
{Throw lathe}, a small lathe worked by one hand, while the cutting tool is held in the other.
But the Dec. 1 rate of lay averaged 68.8 eggs per 100 birds, compared with 68.5 eggs a year earlier, the board said in its recent report.
This can help build confidence to overcome our trade fights with Japan and Europe and lay a much needed foundation for the new U.S. role in shared management of the world economy.
When the betting is over, the players still in the game must lay down their cards.
On Tuesday, he drew a crowd of thousands to a cove near Candlestick Park where he lay beached beside rocks bearing a no-trespassing sign.
"I wouldn't want to lay you odds," Secretary of State George P. Shultz said on the chances of reaching agreement in time.
If it can do this, the island may be able to lay some foundations for a future recovery.
Occasionally, they lay on a disco or visit to a movie for members.
The government's chief economic forecasting gauge shook off the October stock market slump to post a 0.9 percent increase in February in a performance which analysts said should lay to rest fears of a 1988 recession.
No matter where one turned in Cairo, all paths led back to the past, and those things that seemed very old and very dead lay just under a patina of modernism.
Malaysia has its own pollution problems, the result of eight years of more than 8 per cent economic growth, and is reluctant to lay all the blame on Indonesia.
Eastern Airlines announced its first cut in scheduled daily flights since it began its reorganization last March at the outset of a long strike, and said it might lay off some employees.
Havel and 15 other activists were detained on Jan. 16 after eight of them tried to lay flowers in central Wenceslas Square in memory of Jan Palach, a student who burned himself to death there 20 years ago.
She can, at will, lay up to 3,000 in a day.
"Now we'll sit tight and see the lay of the land as far as our business growth goes," said Andrew.
They had tried to lay flowers in Wenceslas Square to honor Jan Palach, a 20-year-old student who burned himself alive 20 years ago to protest the Soviet-led invasion that ended the liberal "Prague Spring" in August 1968.
A federal judge in Washington had ruled Eastern could not lay off unionized personnel.
One reason is that the steelmakers last year announced programs to lay off workers for the first time and to reduce production capacity.
Dayton Hudson Department Store Co. announced plans Monday to lay off more than half of Marshall Field & Co.'s 1,550 employees at its Chicago headquarters.
But Dragonair knew of those obstacles in advance, and analysts lay much of the blame for its performance on poor planning.
After the burial, some of Casiraghi's fellow speedboat racers plan to ride aboard a yacht to the site where the accident occurred and lay a wreath in his memory.
It is a statement of the facts as perceived after reading everything about Aids that it was possible to lay hands on and which was comprehensible to the layman.
Martinez's body lay on the sidewalk in front of his humble home an hour after the vehicle parked in front of it exploded at 6:20 a.m.
'I don't think that I'm unduly academic. I try to lay out what the issues are.
During Ozal's visit, Greek Cypriots living in Athens intend to march to the Turkish Embassy and lay a wreath outside Parliament.
Then they lay down on the steps of city hall for what they called a "die-in." At Lafayette Park, about six blocks from city hall and the Superdome, officials had set up a small stage and sound system for demonstrators to reserve 90-minute slots.
Spying an empty cabin on 3-Deck which at least had a bed in it, he lay down.
With Germany set to unite on Oct. 3, Bonn and Moscow want to lay a solid foundation for relations that have been steadily improving over the past two years.
Drexel has not said whether it will lay off the 1,200-member support staff in the unit.
In one of the biggest moves so far, Salomon Inc. early last month said it would lay off 800 people and abandon the municipal bond and money market businesses.
This was the same reasoning, by the way, that lay behind the Reagan administration's desire to bomb the Rabta industrial complex before the Libyans had had the opportunity to complete its construction.