Lay

1. To spread on a surface; as, to lay plaster or paint.
2. Not belonging to, or emanating from, a particular profession; unprofessional; as, a lay opinion regarding the nature of a disease.
3. To impose, as a command or a duty; as, to lay commands on one.
4. To present or offer; as, to lay an indictment in a particular county; to lay a scheme before one.
5. A plan; a scheme.
6. of Lie
7. To impute; to charge; to allege.
8. To point; to aim; as, to lay a gun.
9. Faith; creed; religious profession.
10. To prepare; to make ready; to contrive; to provide; as, to lay a snare, an ambush, or a plan.
11. To take a position; to come or go; as, to lay forward; to lay aloft.
12. 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.
13. A meadow. See Lea.
14. To impose, as a burden, suffering, or punishment; to assess, as a tax; as, to lay a tax on land.
15. A job, price, or profit.
16. 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.
17. To lay a wager; to bet.
18. To place (new type) properly in the cases.
19. of Lie, to recline.
20. A melody; any musical utterance.
21. To state; to allege; as, to lay the venue.
22. To produce and deposit eggs.
23. A song; a simple lyrical poem; a ballad.
24. To bring forth and deposit; as, to lay eggs.
25. Not educated or cultivated; ignorant.
26. 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.
27. A measure of yarn; a lea. See 1st Lea (a).
28. The laity; the common people.
29. To cause to lie dead or dying.
30. To deposit, as a wager; to stake; to risk.
31. 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.
32. An obligation; a vow.
33. To apply; to put.
34. A wager.
35. To place and arrange (pages) for a form upon the imposing stone.
36. A law.
37. To cause to be still; to calm; to allay; to suppress; to exorcise, as an evil spirit.
38. 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.
39. The lathe of a loom. See Lathe, 3.