lie English · revision 3032

+ English has two words spelled ''lie'': “to recline”, from Old English licgan, and “to speak falsely”, from Old English lēogan.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /laɪ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|recline}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725, Beowulf|origins=ine-pro *legh-}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|lien]], liggen,^(Barnhart 1988) [[inh|ang|licgan|t=to be situated, remain, be at rest, lie down]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*ligjaną|alt=*legjan]],^(Etymonline) the source also of Old Frisian lidzia, Old Saxon liggian, Dutch liggen, Old High German ligen (German liegen), Old Norse liggja and Gothic ligan.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Outside Germanic it is related to Old Irish lige “bed”, Latin lectus “bed”, Greek léchos “bed” and Old Church Slavonic ležati “to lie”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[ine-pro|*legh-|t=to lie down, lay]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Middle English liggen is the regular development of licgan; the form lien, which gave modern ''lie'', was made from the stem of the Old English second and third person singular, ligst, ligþ.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) The noun, “the way something lies”, is from the verb.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To be in a flat or resting position: about 725, in ''Beowulf''.^(Barnhart 1988) The Middle English form lien is recorded in 1137.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word was used especially of lying in bed, and so with sexual implication: ''lie with'', “to have intercourse with”, is from about 1300,^(Etymonline) and Old English had licgan mid “to cohabit with”.^(Etymonline) From “to be at rest” it came to mean to be situated or to remain in a condition, as in ''the town lies on a river'' or ''lie idle''.^(Etymonline)^(AHD) The noun, the manner or position in which something lies, is from 1697,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) and in golf the position of the ball from 1857.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) An animal's lair is a ''lie'' from 1869.^(OED 1989) ''Lie-in'' and ''lie-down'', periods of rest, are 20th-century uses.^(OED 1989) In Scots and northern English dialect the old form ''lig'' survived.^(Wright 1898)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – to lie down, rest.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1137 – Middle English lien.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – ''lie with''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1697 – noun, manner of lying.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1857 – the lie of a golf ball.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1869 – an animal's lair.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1930 – a rest in bed.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To be in or move into a flat, [[horizontal]] position; to [[recline]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Of things, to rest on a surface.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To be or remain in a stated state: ''lie hidden''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To be [[situated]]: ''the island lies to the east''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To consist or be found: ''the answer lies in education''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The way or position in which something lies: ''the lie of the land''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # The lair or hiding place of an animal.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(golf)'' The position of the ball where it has stopped.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[lie-in]]

+ * [[lie-down]]

+ * [[lie low]]

+ * [[layabout]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|falsehood}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 725|origins=gem-pro *leuganą}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The verb is [[inh|enm|lien]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) [[inh|ang|lēogan|t=to deceive, belie, betray]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*leuganą|alt=*leuganan]],^(Etymonline) the source also of Old Frisian liāga, Old Saxon and Old High German liogan (German lügen), Dutch liegen, Old Norse ljúga and Gothic liugan.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) It is of uncertain origin; possible cognates are Old Church Slavonic lŭgati “to lie” and Lithuanian lūgóti “to request”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) and it is not found in Latin, Greek or Sanskrit.^(Etymonline) The noun is [[inh|enm|lie]], [[inh|ang|lyge|t=lie, falsehood]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*lugiz]], from the root of the verb,^(Etymonline) and is cognate with Old Norse lygi and German Lüge.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The verb: Old English lēogan, before 725;^(Barnhart 1988) the OED's first example of “to tell a lie” is from 971.^(OED 1989) The noun, “a false statement made to deceive”, is from about 900.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From people the verb was extended about 1220 to things that give a false impression, such as ''the camera never lies''.^(OED 1989) ''To give the lie to'', “to accuse to one's face of lying”, is from 1593,^(OED 1989) the 1590s in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) and later came to mean “to show to be false”.^(AHD) A ''white lie'', one not meant to harm, is from 1741.^(OED 1989) ''Lie-detector'' is recorded by 1909,^(Etymonline) and the emphatic ''lie through one's teeth'' is from the 1940s.^(Etymonline) The OED notes that the noun is a strong expression of moral blame, so that ''falsehood'' and ''untruth'' are often used instead in polite talk.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 725 – Old English lēogan.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 900 – noun, a falsehood.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1220 – of things, to give a false impression.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1593 – ''give the lie''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1741 – ''white lie''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1909 – ''lie-detector''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1940s – ''lie through one's teeth''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A false statement made on purpose to [[deceive]]; a [[falsehood]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Something meant to give a false impression.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make a false statement knowing it to be untrue.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To give a false impression: ''statistics can lie''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[liar]]

+ * [[lie detector]]

+ * [[white lie]]

+ * [[belie]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lay]]

+ * [[lier]]

+ * [[ledge]]

+ * [[litter]]

+ * [[lager]]

+ * [[law]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The two verbs are conjugated differently: ''lie'' “recline” has past ''lay'' and past participle ''lain'', while ''lie'' “tell a lie” has ''lied''.^(SOED 2002)^(Roach et al. 2011) The recline verb is often confused with ''lay'', “to put down”, its causative.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}