lay English · revision 4085

+ English has three main words spelled ''lay'': the verb “to put down”, inherited from Old English; the adjective “not of the clergy”, from Greek through Latin and French; and the noun “a song”, from Old French, of uncertain origin.^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) Lay is also the past tense of [[lie]] “to recline”.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /leɪ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|to put down}}

+

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

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|leyen]], leggen,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|lecgan|t=to place on the ground; to put down]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*lagjaną|alt=*lagojanan]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the causative of the verb that became [[lie]] “to recline”,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*legʰ-|alt=*legh-|t=to lie down, lay]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) Cognates include Old Saxon leggian, Old Norse leggja, Dutch leggen, German legen and Gothic lagjan.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Hoad explains that the regular descendant of lecgan was Middle English legge, kept in dialect ledge “to lay eggs”, while lay comes from the Old English second and third person forms.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “To put down”: Old English before 725, in Genesis A, and Middle English leyen about 1150, according to Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “To bring forth and deposit”, as eggs, and “to stake”, as a bet, were already Old English,^(Etymonline) as was “to put down by striking”, kept in ''to lay someone low'', “to defeat, humble, kill” (late 14th century).^(Etymonline) ''To lay aside'' is by the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) ''to lay for someone'', “to wait for a chance at revenge”, from the late 15th century,^(Etymonline) and ''to lay low'', “to stay inconspicuous”, from 1839.^(Etymonline) The noun, the act of laying a tax, is from 1558,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) a wager from the 1580s,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and the way a thing lies, as in ''the lay of the land'', from 1819.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The slang “line of business” is from 1707.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) “To have sex with” is United States slang, recorded by 1934, probably from “to deposit”, perhaps reinforced by the biblical ''to lie with'';^(Etymonline) the noun “a woman seen as available for sex” is attested from 1930.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a. 725 – to put down.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 14th century – ''lay someone low'' and ''lay aside''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1558 – noun, a tax.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1580s – a wager.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1707 – a line of business.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1819 – ''the lay of the land''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1839 – ''lay low''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1934 – to have sex with.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To put or set down: ''laid the book on the table''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To cause to lie down.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To place in a particular position or state: ''lay waste''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Of birds and other animals, to produce and deposit [[egg]]s.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To put forward for consideration: ''lay a claim''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To [[bet]] or wager.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To prepare or arrange: ''lay the table''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(vulgar slang)'' To have sex with.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The way or position in which something lies: ''the lay of the land''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The direction or amount of twist in the strands of a rope.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(vulgar slang)'' Sex, or a sexual partner.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[layer]]

+ * [[layout]]

+ * [[layoff]]

+ * [[outlay]]

+ * [[inlay]]

+ * [[waylay]]

+ * [[layby]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|not of the clergy}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1303|origins=grc λαός}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|lai]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) [[bor|fro|lai|t=secular, not of the clergy]] (modern French laïque),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la-lat|lāicus]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[grc|λαϊκός|tr=laïkós|t=of the people]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) from [[m|grc|λαός|tr=laós|t=the people, the common folk]], a word of unknown origin.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) Beekes considers it most often connected with Hittite and Old Irish words for “campaign” and “warrior”, but more likely Pre-Greek.^(Etymonline) [[Laic]] is a later borrowing directly from Late Latin.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “Secular”: about 1303, in Mannyng's Handlyng Synne;^(Barnhart 1988) of persons, “not in holy orders”, about 1330 in the OED,^(OED 1989) the early 14th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle English it was also “unlearned, uneducated”, contrasted with learned, from before 1338;^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) this sense was revived in 1810 as “non-professional, not expert”, especially in law and medicine.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Layman'', a man outside the clergy or a profession, is probably from about 1425,^(Barnhart 1988) and ''laywoman'' from 1529, in Thomas More.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1303 – secular.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1330 – not of the clergy.^(OED 1989)

+ * a. 1338 – unlearned.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1425 – ''layman''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1810 – non-professional.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of or relating to the [[laity]], as distinct from the [[clergy]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Not of a particular profession; non-professional: ''a lay audience''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[layman]]

+ * [[laywoman]]

+ * [[layperson]]

+ * [[laity]]

+

+ {{homograph|3|song}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=disputed|formation=borrowing|attested=a. 1240|origins=fro lai}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|lai]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) [[bor|fro|lai|t=song, lyric]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) a word of unknown origin.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(COED 2004) It has been taken as Celtic, since the earliest lays were Arthurian ballads, comparing Irish laid “song, poem” and Gaelic laoidh;^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) Bloch and Wartburg favour a Celtic origin,^(Barnhart 1988) but the OED finds this out of the question and prefers a Germanic source such as Old High German leich “play, melody, song”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Merriam-Webster suggests Old Norse lag “tune, metre”.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A short lyric or narrative poem to be sung: before 1240 in the OED,^(OED 1989) before 1250 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) the mid-13th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In poetry it was also used of the song of birds, from the 14th century,^(OED 1989) and as a strain or tune from before 1529, now obsolete.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a. 1240 – a song.^(OED 1989)

+ * 14th century – the song of birds.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A narrative poem, such as one sung by medieval minstrels; a [[ballad]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A song or tune.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[roundelay]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ On lay and lie: lay, “to put or place”, takes an object (''he laid the newspaper on the table''), while lie, “to recline or be situated”, does not, and its past tense is lay; the American Heritage notes that the two are frequently confused.^(AHD) Rarer words of the same spelling include an Old English lay “lake, pool”, long obsolete except in dialect,^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002) lay “alloy”, as in ''lay metal'', a kind of pewter,^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002) and the dialect lay, the batten of a loom, an alteration of lathe.^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}