lay /ˈle/
 (vt.)放,擱;下;鋪設,敷設,砌;把…壓平,使倒下;使處于某種狀態;鋪,塗;布置


 lay
 *


 Lay, v. i.
 1. To produce and deposit eggs.
 2. Naut. To take a position; to come or go; as, to lay forward; to lay aloft.
 3. To lay a wager; to bet.
 To lay about, or To lay about one, to strike vigorously in all directions. --J. H. Newman.
 To lay at, to strike or strike at. --Spenser.
 To lay for, to prepare to capture or assault; to lay wait for. [Colloq.] --Bp Hall.
 To lay in for, to make overtures for; to engage or secure the possession of. [Obs.] “I have laid in for these.” --Dryden.
 To lay on, to strike; to beat; to attack. --Shak.
 To lay out, to purpose; to plan; as, he lays out to make a journey.


 Lay n.
 1. That which lies or is laid or is conceived of as having been laid or placed in its position; a row; a stratum; a layer; as, a lay of stone or wood.
    A viol should have a lay of wire strings below.   --Bacon.
 Note: ☞ The lay of a rope is right-handed or left-handed according to the hemp or strands are laid up. See Lay, v. t., 16. The lay of land is its topographical situation, esp. its slope and its surface features.
 2. A wager. “My fortunes against any lay worth naming.”
 3. (a) A job, price, or profit. [Prov. Eng.] --Wright. (b)  A share of the proceeds or profits of an enterprise; as, when a man ships for a whaling voyage, he agrees for a certain lay. [U. S.]
 4. Textile Manuf. (a) A measure of yarn; a lea. See 1st Lea (a). (b) The lathe of a loom. See Lathe, 3.
 5. A plan; a scheme. [Slang]
 Lay figure. (a) A jointed model of the human body that may be put in any attitude; -- used for showing the disposition of drapery, etc.  (b) A mere puppet; one who serves the will of others without independent volition.
 Lay race, that part of a lay on which the shuttle travels in weaving; -- called also shuttle race.
 the lay of the land, the general situation or state of affairs.
 to get the lay of the land, to learn the general situation or state of affairs, especially in preparation for action.

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 Lay imp. of Lie, to recline.


 Lay, a.
 1. Of or pertaining to the laity, as distinct from the clergy; as, a lay person; a lay preacher; a lay brother.
 2. Not educated or cultivated; ignorant. [Obs.]
 3. Not belonging to, or emanating from, a particular profession; unprofessional; as, a lay opinion regarding the nature of a disease.
 Lay baptism Eccl., baptism administered by a lay person. --F. G. Lee.
 Lay brother R. C. Ch., 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, etc., in the church service. --Hook.
 Lay days Com., time allowed in a charter party for taking in and discharging cargo. --McElrath.
 Lay elder. See 2d Elder, 3, note.


 Lay n. The laity; the common people. [Obs.]
    The learned have no more privilege than the lay.   --B. Jonson.


 Lay, n. A meadow. See Lea. [Obs.]


 Lay, n.
 1. Faith; creed; religious profession. [Obs.]
 Of the sect to which that he was born
 He kept his lay, to which that he was sworn.   --Chaucer.
 2. A law. [Obs.] “Many goodly lays.”
 3. An obligation; a vow. [Obs.]
    They bound themselves by a sacred lay and oath.   --Holland.


 Lay a.
 1. A song; a simple lyrical poem; a ballad.
 2. A melody; any musical utterance.
    The throstle cock made eke his lay.   --Chaucer.


 Lay v. t. [imp. & p. p. Laid p. pr. & vb. n. Laying.]
 1. To cause to lie down, to be prostrate, or to lie against something; to put or set down; to deposit; as, to lay a book on the table; to lay a body in the grave; a shower lays the dust.
    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.
 2. To place in position; to establish firmly; to arrange with regularity; to dispose in ranks or tiers; as, to lay a corner stone; to lay bricks in a wall; to lay the covers on a table.
 3. To prepare; to make ready; to contrive; to provide; as, to lay a snare, an ambush, or a plan.
 4. To spread on a surface; as, to lay plaster or paint.
 5. To cause to be still; to calm; to allay; to suppress; to exorcise, as an evil spirit.
    After a tempest when the winds are laid.   --Waller.
 6. To cause to lie dead or dying.
 Brave Cæneus laid Ortygius on the plain,
 The victor Cæneus was by Turnus slain.   --Dryden.
 7. To deposit, as a wager; to stake; to risk.
 I dare lay mine honor
 He will remain so.   --Shak.
 8. To bring forth and deposit; as, to lay eggs.
 9. To apply; to put.
    She layeth her hands to the spindle.   --Prov. xxxi. 19.
 10. To impose, as a burden, suffering, or punishment; to assess, as a tax; as, to lay a tax on land.
    The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.   --Is. liii. 6.
 11. To impute; to charge; to allege.
    God layeth not folly to them.   --Job xxiv. 12.
    Lay the fault on us.   --Shak.
 12. To impose, as a command or a duty; as, to lay commands on one.
 13. To present or offer; as, to lay an indictment in a particular county; to lay a scheme before one.
 14. Law To state; to allege; as, to lay the venue.
 15. Mil. To point; to aim; as, to lay a gun.
 16. Rope Making To put the strands of (a rope, a cable, etc.) in their proper places and twist or unite them; as, to lay a cable or rope.
 17. Print. (a) To place and arrange (pages) for a form upon the imposing stone. (b) To place (new type) properly in the cases.
 To lay asleep, to put sleep; to make unobservant or careless. --Bacon.
 To lay bare, to make bare; to strip.
    And laid those proud roofs bare to summer's rain.   --Byron.
 -- To lay before, to present to; to submit for consideration; as, the papers are laid before Congress.
 To lay by. (a) To save. (b) To discard.
    Let brave spirits . . . not be laid by.   --Bacon.
 -- To lay by the heels, to put in the stocks. --Shak.
 To lay down. (a) To stake as a wager. (b) To yield; to relinquish; to surrender; as, to lay down one's life; to lay down one's arms. (c) To assert or advance, as a proposition or principle.
 To lay forth. (a) To extend at length; (reflexively) to exert one's self; to expatiate. [Obs.] (b) To lay out (as a corpse). [Obs.] --Shak.
 To lay hands on, to seize.
 To lay hands on one's self, or To lay violent hands on one's self, to injure one's self; specif., to commit suicide.
 To lay heads together, to consult.
 To lay hold of, or To lay hold on, to seize; to catch.
 To lay in, to store; to provide.
 To lay it on, to apply without stint. --Shak.
 To lay it on thick, to flatter excessively.
 To lay on, to apply with force; to inflict; as, to lay on blows.
 To lay on load, to lay on blows; to strike violently. [Obs. ∨ Archaic]
 To lay one's self out, to strive earnestly.
    No selfish man will be concerned to lay out himself for the good of his country.   --Smalridge.
 -- To lay one's self open to, to expose one's self to, as to an accusation.
 To lay open, to open; to uncover; to expose; to reveal.
 To lay over, to spread over; to cover.
 To lay out. (a) To expend. --Macaulay. (b) To display; to discover. (c) To plan in detail; to arrange; as, to lay out a garden. (d) To prepare for burial; 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 beset pertinaciously.
 To lay the course Naut., to sail toward the port intended without jibing.
 To lay the land Naut., to cause it to disappear below the horizon, by sailing away from it.
 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 vessel) and cause it to be stationary.
 To lay to heart, to feel deeply; to consider earnestly.
 To lay under, to subject to; as, to lay under obligation or restraint.
 To lay unto. (a) Same as To lay to (above). (b) To put before. --Hos. xi. 4.
 To lay up. (a) To store; to reposit for future use. (b) To confine; to disable. (c) To dismantle, and retire from active service, as a ship.
 To lay wait for, to lie in ambush for.
 To lay waste, to destroy; to make desolate; as, to lay waste the land.
 Syn: -- See Put, v. t., and the Note under 4th Lie.


 Lie, v. i. [imp. Lay p. p. Lain (Lien Obs.); p. pr. & vb. n. Lying.]
 1. To rest extended on the ground, a bed, or any support; to be, or to put one's self, in an horizontal position, or nearly so; to be prostate; to be stretched out; -- often with down, when predicated of living creatures; as, the book lies on the table; the snow lies on the roof; he lies in his coffin.
 The watchful traveler . . .
 Lay down again, and closed his weary eyes.   --Dryden.
 2. To be situated; to occupy a certain place; as, Ireland lies west of England; the meadows lie along the river; the ship lay in port.
 3. To abide; to remain for a longer or shorter time; to be in a certain state or condition; as, to lie waste; to lie fallow; to lie open; to lie hid; to lie grieving; to lie under one's displeasure; to lie at the mercy of the waves; the paper does not lie smooth on the wall.
 4. To be or exist; to belong or pertain; to have an abiding place; to consist; -- with in.
    Envy lies between beings equal in nature, though unequal in circumstances.   --Collier.
    He that thinks that diversion may not lie in hard labor, forgets the early rising and hard riding of huntsmen.   --Locke.
 5. To lodge; to sleep.
    Whiles I was now trifling at home, I saw London, . . . where I lay one night only.   --Evelyn.
    Mr. Quinion lay at our house that night.   --Dickens.
 6. To be still or quiet, like one lying down to rest.
    The wind is loud and will not lie.   --Shak.
 7. Law To be sustainable; to be capable of being maintained. “An appeal lies in this case.”
 Note: ☞ Through ignorance or carelessness speakers and writers often confuse the forms of the two distinct verbs lay and lie. Lay is a transitive verb, and has for its preterit laid; as, he told me to lay it down, and I laid it down. Lie is intransitive, and has for its preterit lay; as, he told me to lie down, and I lay down.  Some persons blunder by using laid for the preterit of lie; as, he told me to lie down, and I laid down. So persons often say incorrectly, the ship laid at anchor; they laid by during the storm; the book was laying on the shelf, etc. It is only necessary to remember, in all such cases, that laid is the preterit of lay, and not of lie.
 To lie along the shore Naut., to coast, keeping land in sight.
 To lie at the door of, to be imputable to; as, the sin, blame, etc., lies at your door.
 To lie at the heart, to be an object of affection, desire, or anxiety. --Sir W. Temple.
 To lie at the mercy of, to be in the power of.
 To lie by. (a) To remain with; to be at hand; as, he has the manuscript lying by him. (b) To rest; to intermit labor; as, we lay by during the heat of the day.
 To lie hard or To lie heavy, to press or weigh; to bear hard.
 To lie in, to be in childbed; to bring forth young.
 To lie in one, to be in the power of; to belong to. “As much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” --Rom. xii. 18.
 To lie in the way, to be an obstacle or impediment.
 To lie in wait , to wait in concealment; to lie in ambush.
 To lie on or To lie upon. (a) To depend on; as, his life lies on the result. (b) To bear, rest, press, or weigh on.
 To lie low, to remain in concealment or inactive. [Slang]
 To lie on hand, To lie on one's hands, to remain unsold or unused; as, the goods are still lying on his hands; they have too much time lying on their hands.
 To lie on the head of, to be imputed to.
    What he gets more of her than sharp words, let it lie on my head.   --Shak.
 -- To lie over. (a) To remain unpaid after the time when payment is due, as a note in bank. (b) To be deferred to some future occasion, as a resolution in a public deliberative body.
 To lie to Naut., to stop or delay; especially, to head as near the wind as possible as being the position of greatest safety in a gale; -- said of a ship.  Cf. To bring to, under Bring.
 To lie under, to be subject to; to suffer; to be oppressed by.
 To lie with. (a) To lodge or sleep with. (b) To have sexual intercourse with. (c) To belong to; as, it lies with you to make amends.


 lay
      adj 1: concerning those not members of the clergy; "set his collar
             in laic rather than clerical position"; "the lay
             ministry"; "the choir sings both sacred and secular
             music" [syn: laic, secular]
      2: not of or from a profession; "a lay opinion as to the cause
         of the disease"
      n 1: a narrative song with a recurrent refrain [syn: ballad]
      2: a narrative poem of popular origin [syn: ballad]
      v 1: put into a certain place or abstract location; "Put your
           things here"; "Set the tray down"; "Set the dogs on the
           scent of the missing children"; "Place emphasis on a
           certain point" [syn: put, set, place, pose, position]
      2: put in a horizontal position; "lay the books on the table";
         "lay the patient carefully onto the bed" [syn: put down,
          repose]
      3: prepare or position for action or operation; "lay a fire";
         "lay the foundation for a new health care plan"
      4: lay eggs; "This hen doesn't lay"
      5: impose as a duty, burden, or punishment; "lay a
         responsibility on someone"
      [also: laid]


 lie
      n 1: a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth [syn: prevarication]
      2: Norwegian diplomat who was the first Secretary General of
         the United Nations (1896-1968) [syn: Trygve Lie, {Trygve
         Halvden Lie]
      3: position or manner in which something is situated
      v 1: be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
      2: be lying, be prostrate; be in a horizontal position; "The
         sick man lay in bed all day"; "the books are lying on the
         shelf" [ant: stand, sit]
      3: originate (in); "The problems dwell in the social injustices
         in this country" [syn: dwell, consist, belong, {lie
         in]
      4: be and remain in a particular state or condition; "lie
         dormant"
      5: tell an untruth; pretend with intent to deceive; "Don't lie
         to your parents"; "She lied when she told me she was only
         29"
      6: have a place in relation to something else; "The fate of
         Bosnia lies in the hands of the West"; "The responsibility
         rests with the Allies" [syn: rest]
      7: assume a reclining position; "lie down on the bed until you
         feel better" [syn: lie down] [ant: arise]
      [also: lying, lay, lain]


 lay
      See lie
      [also: laid]