| Lay 1. (v.) To set or place; also, the past tense of lie. 2. (a.) of or pertaining to the laity, as distinct from the clergy; as, a lay person; a lay preacher; a lay brother. 3. (a.) Not educated or cultivated; ignorant. 4. (a.) Not belonging to, or emanating from, a particular profession; unprofessional; as, a lay opinion regarding the nature of a disease. 5. (n.) The laity; the common people. 6. (n.) A meadow. See Lea. 7. (n.) Faith; creed; religious profession. 8. (n.) A law. 9. (n.) An obligation; a vow. 10. (n.) A song; a simple lyrical poem; a ballad. 11. (n.) A melody; any musical utterance. 12. (v. t.) 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. 13. (v. t.) 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. 14. (v. t.) To prepare; to make ready; to contrive; to provide; as, to lay a snare, an ambush, or a plan. 15. (v. t.) To spread on a surface; as, to lay plaster or paint. 16. (v. t.) To cause to be still; to calm; to allay; to suppress; to exorcise, as an evil spirit. 17. (v. t.) To cause to lie dead or dying. 18. (v. t.) To deposit, as a wager; to stake; to risk. 19. (v. t.) To bring forth and deposit; as, to lay eggs. 20. (v. t.) To apply; to put. 21. (v. t.) To impose, as a burden, suffering, or punishment; to assess, as a tax; as, to lay a tax on land. 22. (v. t.) To impute; to charge; to allege. 23. (v. t.) To impose, as a command or a duty; as, to lay commands on one. 24. (v. t.) To present or offer; as, to lay an indictment in a particular county; to lay a scheme before one. 25. (v. t.) To state; to allege; as, to lay the venue. 26. (v. t.) To point; to aim; as, to lay a gun. 27. (v. t.) 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. 28. (v. t.) To place and arrange (pages) for a form upon the imposing stone. 29. (v. t.) To place (new type) properly in the cases. 30. (v. i.) To produce and deposit eggs. 31. (v. i.) To take a position; to come or go; as, to lay forward; to lay aloft. 32. (v. i.) To lay a wager; to bet. 33. (n.) 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. 34. (n.) A wager. 35. (n.) A job, price, or profit. 36. (v. t.) 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. 37. (n.) A measure of yarn; a lea. See 1st Lea (a). 38. (n.) The lathe of a loom. See Lathe, 3. 39. (n.) A plan; a scheme. 40. (imp.) of Lie Thesaurus Entries Brautlied, Christmas carol, Kunstlied, Liebeslied, Volkslied, abate, accredit, address, advance, aim, air, alba, align, allay, allege, alleviate, anesthetize, ante, ante up, anthem, appease, aria, art song, aspect, assign, assuage, attemper, attitude, attribute, aubade, azimuth, back, ball, ballad, ballade, ballata, bank the fire, barcarole, be intimate, bearing, bearings, bent, benumb, bet, bet on, blues, blues song, blunt, board, boat song, boom, bridal hymn, brindisi, burden with, call, calm, calypso, canso, canticle, canto, cantus, canzone, canzonet, canzonetta, carol, cast, cast loose, cast out devils, cavatina, celestial navigation, chanson, chant, chantey, charge, chasten, cite, civil, clap on ratlines, clear hawse, cohabit, come together, commit adultery, conciliate, congregational, constrain, control, cool, copulate, couple, course, cover, crawl, credit, croon, croon song, current, cushion, cut loose, dab, damp, dampen, de-emphasize, dead reckoning, deaden, deaden the pain, defuse, demand, deposit, descant, diapason, diddle, diminish, direction, direction line, dirge, ditty, downplay, drag, dress, drift, drinking song, drop, dub, dulcify, dull, ease, ease matters, enjoin, epithalamium, equalize, establish, even, exact, exorcise, exposure, extenuate, fade, fasten upon, fell, fix, flatten, flush, folk song, foment, fornicate, freight with, frig, frontage, gamble, game, give relief, grade, grease, grovel, harrow, haul, haul down, have sex, have sexual relations, hazard, heading, heave, heave apeak, heave round, heave short, helmsmanship, hymeneal, hymn, impose, impose on, impose upon, impute, inclination, incline, inflict on, inflict upon, kedge, keep within bounds, laic, laical, lay a wager, lay aloft, lay down, lay flat, lay ghosts, lay level, lay low, lay on, lay out, lay the dust, lenify, lessen, level, levy, lie, lie down, lie flat, lie limply, lie prone, lie prostrate, lie with, lied, lighten, lilt, line, line of direction, line of march, line of position, lodge, log, loll, lounge, love song, love-lilt, lubricate, lull, make a bet, make it with, make love, make out, mate, matin, measure, meet a bet, melodia, melodic line, melody, minstrel song, minstrelsy, mitigate, moderate, modulate, mollify, mount, mow, national anthem, navigation, nonclerical, nonecclesiastical, nonministerial, nonordained, nonpastoral, nonreligious, note, numb, obtund, offer, oil, orientation, pacify, pad, palliate, park, parlay |