Lay

imp. of lie. See LIE.

v. t. [imp. & p. p. LAID; p. pr. & vb. n. LAYING.] [O. Eng. leggen, A-S. lecgan, v. causative from licgan, to lie; Goth. lagyan, v. causative from ligan, O. H. Ger. legjan, N. H. Ger. legen, D. leggen, Icel. leggia, Sw. läggja, Dan. läggе.]

1Sense 1. To cause to lie flat; to place in a low position; to put down; to establish in a firm or fixed manner; to deposit; as, to lay a book on the table; a shower lays the dust; the foundation of a house is laid: sometimes, to beat down; to prostrate; as, the wind lays the grain.

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.

2Sense 2. To place in order; to arrange with regularity; to dispose in ranks or tiers; as, to lay bricks or stones in a wall; to lay the covers on a table.

3Sense 3. To set in order; to prepare; to make ready; to arrange or cause to be prepared; to provide; as, to lay a snare, an ambush, a plan.

4Sense 4. To spread on a surface; to put on, as a cover; as, to lay plaster or paint.

5Sense 5. To calm; to appease; to still; to allay; to quiet.

After a tempest, when the winds are laid. Waller.

6Sense 6. To prevent from manifesting itself, as a spirit; to cause to disappear.

The husband found no charms to lay the devil. L’Estrange.

7Sense 7. To deposit, as a wager; to stake; to risk; to hazard.

I dare lay mine honor he will remain so. Shak.

8Sense 8. To bring forth and deposit, as eggs; to produce.

9Sense 9. To apply; to put.

She layeth her hands to the spindle. Prov. xxxi. 19.

10Sense 10. To assess, as a tax; to impose, as a burden, suffering, or punishment; as, to lay a tax on land; to lay a duty on salt.

The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isa. liii. 6.

11Sense 11. To charge or ascribe the origin of, or responsibility for; as, to lay want of prudence to one’s charge.

12Sense 12. To impose, as a command or a duty; as, to lay commands on one.

13Sense 13. To present or offer; as, to lay an indictment in a particular county.

14Sense 14. (Naut.) To depress and lose sight of, by sailing or departing from; as, to lay the land.

15Sense 15. (Law.) To state; to allege; as, to lay damages; to lay the venue. Bouvier.

To lay a cable, or rope (Naut.), to twist or unite the strands. — To lay along, to prostrate. “In one place the walls of cities are laid along.” Holland. — To lay apart, to put away; to reject. “Lay apart all filthiness.” James i. 21. — To lay aside. (a.) To put off or away; not to retain. “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us.” Heb. xii. 1. (b.) To discontinue; as, to lay aside the use of any thing. — To lay away, to deposit in store; to put aside for preservation. — To lay bare, to make bare; to open. “And laid those proud roofs bare to summer’s rains.” Byron. — To lay before, to exhibit; to show; to present to view; as, the papers are laid before Congress. — To lay by. (a.) To reserve for future use. “Let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him.” 1 Cor. xvi. 2. (b.) To put away; to dismiss. “Let brave spirits not be laid by as persons unnecessary for the time.” Bacon. (c.) To put off. “And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail.” Gen. xxxviii. 19. — To lay damages (Law), to state the amount of damages. — To lay down. (a.) To deposit as a pledge, equivalent, or satisfaction; to resign. “I lay down my life for the sheep.” John x. 15. (b.) To give up; to resign; to quit or relinquish; as, to lay down an office or commission. (c.) To quit; to surrender the use of; as, to lay down one’s arms. (d.) To offer or advance; as, to lay down a proposition or principle. — To lay for, to lie in wait for. [Obs.] — To lay forth, to lay out, as a corpse. [Obs.] Shak. — To lay heads together, to consult together; to compare opinions; to deliberate. — To lay hold of, or to lay hold on, to seize; to catch. — To lay in, to store; to treasure; to provide previously. — To lay on, to apply with force; to inflict; as, to lay on blows. — To lay one’s self down, to commit to repose. “I will both lay me down in peace and sleep.” Ps. iv. 8. — To lay one’s self forth, to exert one’s self vigorously or earnestly; to lay one’s self out. [Obs.] — To lay one’s self out, to exert strength; to strive earnestly. — To lay open, to open; to make bare; to uncover; also, to show; to expose; to reveal; as, to lay open the designs of an enemy. — To lay over, to spread over; to incrust; to cover the surface; as, to lay over with gold or silver. — To lay out. (a.) To expend. “Her grace laid out her friend’s bequest in a superb diamond necklace.” Macaulay. (b.) To display; to discover. [Obs.] “He takes occasion to lay out bigotry and false confidence in all its colors.” Atterbury. (c.) To plan; to dispose in order the several parts; as, to lay out a garden. (d.) To dress in grave-clothes, and place in a decent posture; 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 address one’s self to with importunities; to court pertinaciously; to tease with urgent and repeated requests or solicitations. — To lay the course (Naut.), to sail toward the port intended without jibing. — 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 ship, and cause her to be stationary. — To lay together, to collect; to bring to one place; also, to bring into one view. — To lay to heart, to permit to affect greatly; to feel deeply. — To lay under, to subject to; as, to lay one under restraint or obligation. — To lay up. (a.) To store; to treasure; to reposit for future use. “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” Matt. vi. 20. (b.) To confine to the bed or chamber; as, he is laid up with the gout. (c.) To dismantle, and place in a dock or some safe place, as a ship. — To lay upon, to press with importunities; to lay siege to. — To lay wait for, to lie in ambush for; to make preparations to surprise, or to fall upon and attack suddenly and unexpectedly. — To lay waste, to destroy; to desolate; to deprive of inhabitants, improvements, and productions.

Synonyms— See LIE.

n. [Written also ley and lea.] [A-S. leag, leah, ley, a field, pasture; Ger. teich, a level place; Scot. lea, not plowed; Norm. Fr. lea, ley, pasture-ground; O. Fr. lay, lé, largeness, extent, lé, lée, large, from Lat. latus, broad, wide; O. Fr. laye, a path made through a forest; Icel. leið, A-S. lād, O. D. leie, L. Lat. leda. Cf. LAYLAND.] A meadow; a plain or plat of grass land. A tuft of daisies on a flowery lay. Dryden.

(lā), n. (Weaving.) A swinging frame in a loom, called also the batten or lathe, by the movements of which the weft-threads are laid parallel to each other against the cloth previously woven.

(lā), n. The laity; the common sort. [Obs.]

The learned have no more privilege than the lay. B. Jonson.

(lā), a. [O. Fr. lai. See LAIC.]

1Sense 1. Pertaining to the laity or people, as distinct from the clergy; not clerical; as, a lay person; a lay preacher; a lay brother.

2Sense 2. Not educated or cultivated; ignorant. [Obs.]

Lay brother (Eccl.), 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, &c., in the church service. Hook. — Lay days (Law), days allowed to the merchant or charterer to load or unload cargo. Simmonds. — Lay elder (Presbyterian Church), the same as ELDER. See ELDER. — Lay figure, a figure made of wood or cork, in imitation of the human body, used by artists. It can be placed in any position or attitude, and serves, when clothed, as a model for the drapery, figure, position, and the like; — called also layman.