lay 
5. To lie (in most uses). See lie 1 . [A common 
erroneous use. See remarks in etymology.] 
SiMid'st him, shivering in thy playful spray, . . . 
And dashcst him again to earth: there let him lay. 
Byron, Chllde Harold, iv. 180. 
Laugh andlaydownt. see laugh. To lay about one, 
to strike on all Bides; act with vigor. To lay att, to 
strike or endeavor to strike. 
The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold. 
Job xll. 20. 
To lay for, to lay wait or lie In wait for. ( Now only slang. 1 
To. Where are they? let's go presently and Jay /or "hem. 
Go. I have done that already, sir, both by constables and 
other officers. 
Marstun, Jonson, and Chapman, Eastward IIo, IT. 1. 
To lay int, to lay about one. 
The kynge Carados com in fresshe with v 1 ' men and 
leide in a-monge hem fercely. Merlin (E. E. T. S.\ II. 249. 
To lay In fort, to make overtures for; engage or secure 
the possession of. 
I have laid in for these. Dryden. 
To lay Into, to beat or drub thoroughly. [Colloq.J 
I shall be very happy, ... If you contemplate horse- 
whipping any body, to go and hold the door, while you lay 
into the ruffian. 
D. Jerrold, Men of Character, John Applejohn, xlli. 
To lay on, to strike ; beat ; deal blows. 
A iiin.it as vlfyn was vp he smote In to the presse, and 
leide on so barde that ho Drake the presse. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.\ U. 157. 
Lay on, Macduff, 
And damn'd be him that first cries " Hold, enough ! " 
Shale., Macbeth, v. 8. S3. 
To lay Out. (a) To purpose ; Intend : as, to lay out to make 
a journey. [Colloq.J (0) To take measures ; seek. 
There hardly has been a time since the Apostles' day, in 
which men were more likely than in this age to do their 
good deeds to be seen of men, to lay out for human praise, 
and therefore to shape their actions by the world's rule 
rather than God's will. 
J. H. Newman, Parochial Sermons, i. 130. 
To lay over, to surpass ; excel. [Slang.] 
They've a street up there in " Roaring," that would lay 
over any street In Red Dog. 
/.'/'' I In HI . Luck of Roaring Camp. 
To lay to, erroneous for to lie to. To lay upont, to Im- 
portune. Syn. Lie, Lay. See li<->, v. i. 
lay 1 (la), . [< taw 1 , v. Cf. OS. laga = OFries. 
laga = D. laag = MLG. lage = OHG. laga, MHG. 
lage, G. lage = Icel. Dan. lag = Sw. lag, lage, 
layer, Her, etc.: from the verb cognate with 
tie 1 . In some uses an erroneous use of lie*-, n.] 
1 t. That which lies or is laid ; a layer or stratum. 
First they layed a lay of Brickes, then a Mat made of 
Canes, square as the Brickes, and in stead of lime they 
daubed It with earth. HaUuyt's Voyages, II. 214. 
2. In wool-mnnuf., a quantity of wool or other 
fiber in a willow or carding-machine. E. H. 
Knight. 3f. Abet; a wager; an obligation. 
Clif. My soul and body on the action both! 
York. A dreadful lay .' address thee Instantly ! 
Shale., 2 Hen. VI., v. 2. 27. 
They bound themselves by a sacred lav and oath. 
Holland. 
4. Relative position, direction, arrangement, 
situation, etc.; the way or manner in which a 
thing lies in relation to something else : as, the 
lay of the land: the lay of a rope (that is, the 
direction in which the different strands are 
twisted). {Lay in this sense is much more common than 
lie, but the latter Is regarded as more correct See (fel, 
., 1.1 
5f. Station; rank. 
Welcome unto thee, renowned Turk, 
Not for thy lay, but for thy worth in arms. 
Kyd (?), Sollman and Perseda. 
6. A share of profit; specifically, in whaling 
and sealing, the proportionate share of the pro- 
fits of a voyage which each officer and member 
of the crew receives. These lays are known as a 
short lay and a long lay, according to the position and ex- 
perience of the recipient, and are agreed upon between the 
owners of the vessel and the crew before sailing. 
7. A field or method of operations ; special kind 
of theft or roguery: as, his lay is pocket-pick- 
ing, or the drop game. [Thieves' slang.] 
I have found yon, 
Your lays, and out-leaps, ,1 minis, haunts, and lodges. 
Fletcher, Bonduca, L 2. 
Our people have moved this boy on, and he's not to be 
found on his old lay. Dickens, Bleak House. 
8. A certain quantity of thread or worsted. It 
is usually 800 yards, being 200 threads on a reel 
of 4 yams ; but in some places it is less. Also 
I <'<i. -Kinchin lay. See tineAin. On a lay, on shares : 
as, officers and crew are shipped on a itiii. instead of re- 
ceiving wages. See def. a To snip on a lay, to hire a 
crew on shares, not on wages. Welsh lay, a slate mea- 
suring 8 by 2 feet. 
lay- (la). Preterit of lie 1 . 
lay a (la), . [< ME. layc, lai, < OP. lai, lots. F. 
lai = Pr. In >/a. In is, a song, lay; prob. of Celtic 
origin, from a Bret, form not recorded, = Ir. 
3381 
loot, laoidh = Gael, laoulh, a song, poem, = \V. 
llais, a sound, note, tone, voice. It is not clear 
that these forms are akin to AS. leotli = OHG. 
liod, lead, MHG. liet, G. lied = Icel. Ijfidh = Goth. 
'liuth (in verb liuthon, sing), a song, strophe.] 
A song ; a lyrical utterance, either in words or 
in musical tones; specifically, a lyric poem. 
If je wyl lysten this laije hot on littel anile, 
I tchal telle hit, as tit as I In loan herde with tonge. 
Sir Qaicayne and the (Jreen Knight (T.. E. T. 8.), L 81. 
So chaunts the mounting lark her gladsome lay 
When night gives place to the delightful! day. 
Beaumont, To Viscount Perbeck. 
I love the old melodious lays 
Which softly melt the ages through. 
wKittier, Proem. 
lay 4 (la), a. [< ME. lay, < OF. lai, F. lai (also 
laique) = 8p. laico = Pg. It. laico (cf . OFries. leka, 
leia = D. leek = MLG. lee = OHG. leigo, MHG. 
leige, leie, G. laie = Dan. lag, partly < F., partly 
< L.), < LL. ML. luii-iix, lay (in LL. only as a 
noun), < Gr. folidf, belonging to the people, 
< &iof, Attic Artie, the people. Also in more 
mod. form laic, directly from the LL.] 1. Of 
or pertaining to the people or laity, as distinct 
from the clergy; not clerical: as, a lay person; 
a lay preacher. 
Tl> a meddling friar ; 
I do not Uke the man ; had he been lay, my lord, 
... I had swinged him soundly. 
Shot., M. for M., v. 1. 128. 
The lay part of his majesty's subjects . . . may be di- 
vided into three distinct states, the civil, the military, and 
the maritime. Blackstone, Com., I. xii. 
2. Not belonging to, connected with, or pro- 
ceeding from the profession or occupation con- 
cerned ; unprofessional : as, a toy judge ; a lay 
opinion of a legal question. 3t. Uneducated ; 
unlearned; ignorant. 
Lered men & lay, fre & bond of tonne. 
Rob. of Brunne, p. 171. 
For then all mouths will judge, and their own way, 
The learn 'd have no more privilege than the lay. 
II. Jonson, Epigrams, 131. 
4. In card-playing, not trumps : as, a lay suit ; 
a lay card Lay baptism, baptism administered by a 
layman. Lay brother, (o) A layman. 
Neither did the first Nlcene councel, as great and learned 
as it was, think It any robbery to receive in, and require 
the help and presence of many learned lay brethren, as they 
were then calld. Milton, Church-Government, ii. '3, 
(b) A man under the vows of celibacy and obedience, who 
serves the monks In a monastery, chiefly in manual labor, 
but Is exempt from the studies and religious services re- 
quired of the monks. 
This retreat, so suited to the genius of a Gray, or a Mil- 
ton, is now occupied by a lay-brother, who resides in it 
layering 
We returned to our quarter some l-mr. myles ( 
the River, which was ontly the open woods vnder th* Ujw 
of a hill. Quoted in O i.MKi Work*, I. KM. 
Iay 8 t, n. [Also ley; < ME. ley, leye, leie, leje, lie, 
life, < AS. leg, lig (= Icel. tfygr), flame, light- 
ning; from the root of Iroht, light: see light 1 . 
Ct.lou* and /<!.] Aflame. 
And as wex and weyke and hotc tyre togydcres 
Fortran forth a flaunibe and a feyre leye, 
So doth the sire and the sone and also splritus sanctui 
Fostren forth amonges folke lone and bileuc. 
I'trrt Plowman (B), xrIL 807. 
lay 9 (la), n. [< ME. lai. late, leie, leye, lame, < 
AS. lagu = OS. linju = Icel. liiijr, etc., a lake : 
see l'ih l .\ A lake. 
He made alle a valaye, 
Al so It were a brod leye. 
Arthaur and Merlin, p. 350. (UaUiwell.) 
lay 10 (la), . [By apheresis from allay*.] The 
standard of metals. [Prov. Eng.] 
lay 11 (la), n. Same MMI01, 2, of which it is a 
corruption. 
Two or more ends are passed through each slit of the 
" 
reed, which is fixed In a lay or "batten," a suspended 
frame for moving the reed backward In beating up the 
weft Encyc. Brit., XXIvT 464. 
merely to keep It clean. 
Eustace, Italy, III. x. 
Lay communion, the state of being in the communion of 
the church as a layman, in distinction from the possession 
of the additional powers and privileges of a clergyman : 
as, to reduce a priest or clergyman to latj communion as a 
ference. Lay fee. (a) Lands held In fee of a lay lord, 
as distinguished from those lands which belong to the 
church. (6) A fee held in consideration of secular service. 
Lay Improprlator, an impropriator who Is a layman ; 
a layman to whom the emoluments of an ecclesiastical 
living were given. Lay investiture. See ecclesiastical 
investiture, under investiture. Lay Judge. See judge. 
Lay lord, a civil lord of the British admiralty. Lay 
reader, a layman licensed to read the prayers In church. 
Lay sister, a woman who occupies a position In a nun- 
nery analogous to that of a lay brother In a monastery. 
Also called sitter convene. Lay vicars, in the KIVI. ('//., 
officers of a cathedral whose duty it Is to sing so much of 
the service as may be performed by laymen or by those In 
minor orders. In some of the old cathedrals they formed 
a corporation ; in some they were persons in holy orders. 
In most new cathedrals they are merely paid singers. They 
are also called clerk vicars, secular vicars, lay clerks, secular 
clerks, chanters, songmen. and sccittutarii. 
lay 5 (!)> [ME., < OF. lei, lai, ley, also lot, 
Y.loi = Sp. ley = Pg.lei = It. legge,< L. lex (leg-), 
law, ult. akin to E. laic : see laic 1 . Hence also 
(from L. lex (leg-), law) E. leal, loyal, legal, legate, 
allege 1 , etc.: see We 1 .] If. Law. 
Son, thou lyst oght lere To lyf by Moyses lay. 
York Plays, p. 159. 
Tls churchman's lay and verity 
To live In love and charity. Pede, Edward I. 
2f. Faith; creed; religious profession. 
She . . . seyde him that she wolde reneye her lay 
And cristendom of preestes handes fongc, 
Repenting hir she hethen was so longe. 
Chaucer, Man of Law's Tale, L 278. 
3f. Faithfulness; fidelity. Pier* Plovman. 
4. Liberty; leisure; latitude; opportunity. 
[North. Eng.] 5. A poor-rate. [Prov. Eng.] 
lay (la), M. and a. An obsolete or dialectal 
form of lea 1 . 
lay" (la), H. An obsolete or dialectal form of 
tee 1 . 
Each stroke of the lay advances the weft the distance 
required. I/re, Diet., IV. 957. 
lay-cap (la'kap), . In weaving, a wooden bar 
which is adapted to lie upon the top of and 
assist in holding the reed in the lathe or bat- 
ten, and also formed to afford a convenient 
hold for the weaver in working the lathe. See 
lathe 1 , 2. 
laydt (lad). An obsolete preterit and past par- 
ticiple of lay 1 . 
lay-day (la'da), n. One of a stipulated num- 
ber of days allowed to a freighter or charterer 
of a vessel for shipping or unshipping cargo. 
In the absence of contrary custom, Sundays are to be 
computed in the calculation of lay-days at the port of dis- 
charge. 
layer (la'er), . [< ME. Icyer, leyare, a layer 
(of stones or bricks); < fay 1 , v., + -er 1 . In defs. 
2-6 used in a passive sense, 'that which lies,' 
as if equiv. to tor 1 , and its variants ligger, 
ledger 1 , and in part another spelling of fair 1 : 
see fair 1 , lier 1 , ligger, ledger 1 .] 1. One who or 
that which lays, in any sense of the verb fay: 
as, a brickfayrr; specifically, a hen that lays 
eggs : as, she is a good layer. 
The oldest are always reckoned the best sitters, and the 
youngest the best layers. Mortimer. 
2. A thickness of some material laid or resting 
upon or spread over a surface of any kind ; a 
stratum of moderate thickness : as, a layer of 
paint; successive layers of clay, shale, and 
slate; a cake made in layers; the five layers of 
the muscles of the back. 
A layer of rich mould beneath and about his natural 
earth to nourish the fibers. 
Evelyn, Calendarium Hortense. 
A cedar spread his dark-green layers of shade. 
TennysiiH, Gardener's Daughter. 
3. In masonry and bricklaying: (a) Same as 
course 1 , 16 (a), (b) A bed of mortar or cement. 
E. H. Knight. 4. In leather-manuf., a welt 
or strengthening strip. E. H. Knight. 5. A 
shoot or twig of a plant, not detached from the 
stock, partly laid under ground for growth or 
propagation. 6. In tanning, a pit or vat con- 
taining a strong solution of tannin, in which 
hides are laid near the end of the tanning pro- 
cess. Also called bloomer-pit. 
The hides are next put into large vats called layers, in 
which they are smoothly stratified, with more bark and a 
stronger infusion. Ure. Diet., III. 84. 
Bacillary layer. See badllary. Boundary layer of 
Henle, the outor layer of the medullary portion of the 
kidney. Cortical, gonldlal, gonlmlc, granular, hya- 
line, etc., layer, see the adjectives. Hymenial layer. 
Same as linvieniutn. Layer of rods and cones. See 
rrti'na. Woody layers, the rings of wood which sur- 
round the pith In exogenous trees, one being produced 
for every period of growth which the tree passes through. 
Seetxogen. 
layer (la'er), r. <. [< layer, .] In hort., to prop- 
agate by bending the shoot of a living stem into 
the soil, the shoot striking root while still fed 
by the parent plant. 
layer-board, layer-boarding ( la'er-bord,-bdr'- 
ding), n. Boarding for sustaining roof-gutters 
of lead. Also called lear-board, gutter-boarding. 
layering (la'er-ing),n. [Ver- 
bal n. of layer, r.] The oper- 
ation of propagating plants 
bv layers. See layer, v. t. 
The figure shows the layered shoot 
bent down and kept in the ground 
by a hooked peg, the young root- 
lets, and a stick supporting the 
extremity of the shoot in an up- 
right position. ; nr, ,. 
