lay: English has three words lay. The common verb, ‘cause to lie’ [OE], goes back to the prehistoric Germanic base *lag- ‘put’, a variant of which produced lie. From it was derived *lagjan, whose modern descendants are German legen, Dutch leggen, Swedish lägga, Danish lægge, and English lay. Law comes from the same source, and it is possible that ledge [14] may be an offshoot of lay (which in Middle English was legge). Ledger could well be related too. Lay ‘secular’ [14] comes via Old French lai and Latin lāicus from Greek lāikós, a derivative of lāós ‘the people’.
And lay ‘ballad’ [13] comes from Old French lai, a word of unknown origin. => law, lie, ledger; liturgy
lay (v.)
Old English lecgan "to place on the ground (or other surface)," also "put down (often by striking)," from Proto-Germanic *lagjan (cognates: Old Saxon leggian, Old Norse leggja, Old Frisian ledza, Middle Dutch legghan, Dutch leggen, Old High German lecken, German legen, Gothic lagjan "to lay, put, place"), causative of lie (v.2). As a noun, from 1550s, "act of laying." Meaning "way in which something is laid" (as in lay of the land) first recorded 1819.
Meaning "have sex with" first recorded 1934, in U.S. slang, probably from sense of "deposit" (which was in Old English, as in lay an egg, lay a bet, etc.), perhaps reinforced by to lie with, a phrase frequently met in the Bible. The noun meaning "woman available for sexual intercourse" is attested from 1930, but there are suggestions of it in stage puns from as far back as 1767. To lay for (someone) "await a chance at revenge" is from late 15c.; lay low "stay inconspicuous" is from 1839. To lay (someone) low preserves the secondary Old English sense.
lay (adj.)
"uneducated; non-clerical," early 14c., from Old French lai "secular, not of the clergy" (Modern French laïque), from Late Latin laicus, from Greek laikos "of the people," from laos "people," of unknown origin. In Middle English, contrasted with learned, a sense revived 1810 for "non-expert."
lay (n.)
"short song," mid-13c., from Old French lai "song, lyric," of unknown origin, perhaps from Celtic (compare Irish laid "song, poem," Gaelic laoidh "poem, verse, play") because the earliest verses so called were Arthurian ballads, but OED finds this "out of the question" and prefers a theory which traces it to a Germanic source, such as Old High German leich "play, melody, song."
实用例句
1. On Sunday Cohen lay around the house all day.
科恩星期天一整天都在家无所事事。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Under the newspaper, atop a sheet of paper, lay an envelope.
在报纸下面的一张纸上放着一个信封。
来自柯林斯例句
3. Bob slid from his chair and lay prone on the floor.
鲍勃从椅子上滑下来，趴在了地板上。
来自柯林斯例句
4. Sailing boats lay at anchor in the narrow waterway.
帆船停泊在狭窄的水道上。
来自柯林斯例句
5. He lay beside her awkwardly, propped on an elbow.
