lay

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To put something down carefully, usually in a flat position.

   Lay the books on the table when you come in.

2. 2
   verb

   To produce an egg.

   This hen doesn't lay any more.

3. 3
   verb

   To prepare or set something out for use.

   Could you lay the table before dinner?

4. 4
   verb

   To place a duty, blame, or burden on someone.

   They tried to lay the blame on me.

5. 5
   adj

   Not professionally trained or qualified in a particular subject.

   To a lay person, the medical report was hard to understand.

Common collocations

• lay the table Verb + noun

Inherited from Middle English lay, laye, laie, ley, leye, which may have multiple origins: * Potentially from *læġ-, an unattested variant stem of Old English lagu m (“sea, flood, water, ocean”), if transferred to a-stem inflection (compare Old English dæġ-, dag- (“day”) > Middle English day, daw-); compare plural Middle English lawes and lauen. If so, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *lagu (“water, sea”), from Proto-Germanic *laguz (“water, sea”), from Proto-Indo-European *lókus (“water, body of water, lake”). * Alternatively, borrowed from Old French lai, from Latin lacus (“lake, hollow, h…

Topics