GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English
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Found 2 definitions
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Lay (lā), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Laid (lād); p. pr. & vb. n. Laying.] [OE. leggen, AS. lecgan, causative, fr. licgan to lie; akin to D. leggen, G. legen, Icel. leggja, Goth. lagjan. See Lie to be prostrate.]
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.”
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A stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den. Dan. vi. 17.
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Soft on the flowery herb I found me laid. Milton.
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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.”
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3. To prepare; to make ready; to contrive; to provide; as, “to lay a snare, an ambush, or a plan”.
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4. To spread on a surface; as, “to lay plaster or paint”.
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5. To cause to be still; to calm; to allay; to suppress; to exorcise, as an evil spirit.
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After a tempest when the winds are laid. Waller.
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6. To cause to lie dead or dying.
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Brave Cæneus laid Ortygius on the plain,
The victor Cæneus was by Turnus slain. Dryden.
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7. To deposit, as a wager; to stake; to risk.
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I dare lay mine honor
He will remain so. Shak.
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8. To bring forth and deposit; as, “to lay eggs”.
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9. To apply; to put.
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She layeth her hands to the spindle. Prov. xxxi. 19.
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10. To impose, as a burden, suffering, or punishment; to assess, as a tax; as, “to lay a tax on land”.
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The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Is. liii. 6.
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11. To impute; to charge; to allege.
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God layeth not folly to them. Job xxiv. 12.
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Lay the fault on us. Shak.
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12. To impose, as a command or a duty; as, “to lay commands on one”.
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13. To present or offer; as, “to lay an indictment in a particular county; to lay a scheme before one.”
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14. (Law) To state; to allege; as, “to lay the venue”. Bouvier.
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15. (Mil.) To point; to aim; as, “to lay a gun”.
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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”.
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17. (Print.) (a) To place and arrange (pages) for a form upon the imposing stone. (b) To place (new type) properly in the cases.
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To lay asleep, to put sleep; to make unobservant or careless. Bacon. -- To lay bare, to make bare; to strip.
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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.
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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. or Archaic] -- To lay one's self out, to strive earnestly.
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No selfish man will be concerned to lay out himself for the good of his country. Smalridge.
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-- 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”.
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Syn. -- See Put, v. t., and the Note under 4th Lie.
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Laying (?), n.
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1. The act of one who, or that which, lays.
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2. The act or period of laying eggs; the eggs laid for one incubation; a clutch.
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3. The first coat on laths of plasterer's two-coat work.
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