Lay \Lay\ (l[=a]), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Laid (l[=a]d); 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 C[ae]neus laid Ortygius on the plain,
The victor C[ae]neus 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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