different between laic vs lair

English

Alternative forms

• laick (obsolete)

Etymology

From French laïque, from Latin la?cus (“common people”), from Ancient Greek ???? (laós). Doublet of lay.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?le?.?k/

  Rhymes: -e??k

Noun

laic (plural laics)

1. A layperson, as opposed to a member of the clergy.

Adjective

laic (comparative more laic, superlative most laic)

1. Lay, relating to laypersons, as opposed to clerical.
   • 1644, John Milton, Aeropagitica

     And in conclusion it reflects to the disrepute of our ministers ... [that] they should still be frequented with such an unprincipled, unedified and laic rabble, as that the whiff of every new pamphlet should stagger them out of their catechism and Christian walking.

Anagrams

• -ical, Cail, Cali, Laci

Catalan

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin laicus, from Ancient Greek ???? (laós). Doublet of llec.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /?lajk/

Adjective

laic (feminine laica, masculine plural laics, feminine plural laiques)

1. laic, secular

Noun

laic m (plural laics, feminine laica)

1. layperson

Further reading

• “laic” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “laic” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “laic” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “laic” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Iu Mien

Etymology

From Proto-Hmong-Mien *-rajH (“sharp”). Cognate with White Hmong zuag.

Adjective

laic 

1. sharp

Romanian

Etymology

From French laïque, from Latin laicus.

Adjective

laic m or n (feminine singular laic?, masculine plural laici, feminine and neuter plural laice)

1. secular

Declension

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /l??/
• (US) IPA^(key): /l???/
• Rhymes: -??(?)
• Homophone: layer (one pronunciation)

Etymology 1

From Middle English leir, leire, lair, lare, from Old English le?er (“couch, bed”), from Proto-Germanic *legr?, from Proto-Indo-European *leg?-.

Noun

lair (plural lairs)

1. A place inhabited by a wild animal, often a cave or a hole in the ground.
2. A shed or shelter for domestic animals.
3. (figuratively) A place inhabited by a criminal or criminals, a superhero or a supervillain; a refuge, retreat, haven or hideaway.
   • 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula Chapter 21

     ...Van Helsing stood up and said, "Now, my dear friends, we go forth to our terrible enterprise. Are we all armed, as we were on that night when first we visited our enemy's lair. Armed against ghostly as well as carnal attack?"

4. (Britain dialectal) A bed or resting place.
5. (Scotland) A grave; a cemetery plot. [from c. 1420]

Synonyms

• (of an animal): burrow (of some smaller mammals), den (of a lion or tiger), holt (of an otter)
• (of a criminal): den, hide-out

Derived terms

• (grave): lair-stone (“tombstone”)

Translations

Verb

lair (third-person singular simple present lairs, present participle lairing, simple past and past participle laired)

1. (Britain) To rest; to dwell.
2. (Britain) To lay down.
3. (Britain) To bury.

Etymology 2

From Old Norse leir (“clay, mud”). Compare Icelandic leir (“clay”).

Noun

lair (plural lairs)

1. (Scotland) A bog; a mire.

Verb

lair (third-person singular simple present lairs, present participle lairing, simple past and past participle laired)

1. (transitive, Scotland) To mire.
2. (intransitive, Scotland) To become mired.

Etymology 3

Backformation from lairy.

Noun

lair (plural lairs)

1. (Australia, New Zealand, colloquial) A person who dresses in a showy but tasteless manner and behaves in a vulgar and conceited way; a show-off.

References

• Wright, Joseph (1902) The English Dialect Dictionary?^[3], volume 3, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pages 505–506
• “lair” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.

Anagrams

• aril, lari, liar, lira, rail, rial

Manx

Noun

lair f

1. Alternative form of laair

Scots

Etymology

From Old English l?r (“instruction”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?lair/
• Rhymes: -er

Noun

lair (plural lairs)

1. lore
   • "Ower mony a fair-farrant an rare beuk o precious lair" (second line of "The Raven" translated into Scots).