different between lap vs lai

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /læp/
• Rhymes: -æp

Etymology 1

From Middle English lappe, from Old English læppa (“skirt or flap of a garment”), from Proto-Germanic *lappô (“cloth; rag”), of uncertain origin, possibly Proto-Indo-European *leb- (“to hang loosely”). Cognate with Dutch lap (“cloth; rag”), German Lappen (“cloth; lobe; flap”), Icelandic leppur (“rag; patch”).

Noun

lap (plural laps)

1. The loose part of a coat; the lower part of a garment that plays loosely; a skirt; an apron.
2. An edge; a border; a hem, as of cloth.
3. The part of the clothing that lies on the knees or thighs when one sits down; that part of the person thus covered
4. (figuratively) a place of rearing and fostering
5. The upper legs of a seated person.

6. (archaic, euphemistic) The female pudenda. [17th century]
7. (construction) A component that overlaps or covers any portion of itself or of an adjacent component.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

lap (third-person singular simple present laps, present participle lapping, simple past and past participle lapped)

1. (transitive) To enfold; to hold as in one's lap; to cherish.

   • Her garment spreads, and laps him in the fold.

2. (transitive) To rest or recline in a lap, or as in a lap.
   • a. 1839, Winthrop Mackworth Praed, Gog

     to lap his head on lady's breast

References

Etymology 2

From Middle English lappen (“to fold, wrap”) from earlier wlappen (“to fold, wrap”), from Old English *wlappan, *wlæppan, *wlappian (“to wrap”), from Proto-Germanic *wlapp-, *wrapp- (“to wrap, fold, roll up, turn”), from Proto-Indo-European *werb- (“to bend, turn”). Cognate with Middle Dutch lappen (“to wrap up, embrace”), dialectal Danish vravle (“to wind”), Old Italian goluppare (“to wrap, fold up”) (from Germanic). Doublet of wrap. Also related to envelop, develop.

The sense of "to get a lap ahead (of someone) on a track" is from 1847, on notion of "overlapping." The noun meaning "a turn around a track" (1861) is from this sense.

Verb

lap (third-person singular simple present laps, present participle lapping, simple past and past participle lapped)

1. (transitive) To fold; to bend and lay over or on something.

2. (transitive) to wrap around, enwrap, wrap up

   • About the paper […] I lapped several times a slender thread of very black silk.

3. (transitive) to envelop, enfold

4. (intransitive) to wind around
5. (transitive) To place or lay (one thing) so as to overlap another.

6. (transitive) To polish, e.g., a surface, until smooth.
7. (intransitive) To be turned or folded; to lie partly on or over something; to overlap.
   • 1681, Nehemiah Grew, Musaeum Regalis Societatis

     The upper wings are opacous […] ; at their hinder ends, where they lap over, transparent, like the wing of a fly.

8. (transitive, sports, motor racing) To overtake a straggler in a race by completing one more whole lap than the straggler.
9. To cut or polish with a lap, as glass, gems, cutlery, etc.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

lap (plural laps)

1. The act or process of lapping.
2. That part of any substance or fixture which extends over, or lies upon, or by the side of, a part of another.

3. The state or condition of being in part extended over or by the side of something else; or the extent of the overlapping.

4. The amount by which a slide valve at its half stroke overlaps a port in the seat, being equal to the distance the valve must move from its mid stroke position in order to begin to open the port. Used alone, lap refers to outside lap (see below).
5. (sports) One circuit around a race track, or one traversal down and then back the length of a pool
6. In card playing and other games, the points won in excess of the number necessary to complete a game; — so called when they are counted in the score of the following game.
7. A sheet, layer, or bat, of cotton fiber prepared for the carding machine.
8. A piece of brass, lead, or other soft metal, used to hold a cutting or polishing powder in cutting glass, gems, etc. or in polishing cutlery, etc. It is usually in the form of a wheel or disk that revolves on a vertical axis.

Derived terms

• lap of honor/lap of honour

Translations

Etymology 3

From Middle English lappen, from Old English lapian, from Proto-Germanic *lap?n?, *lapjan? (“to lick; lap”), from imitative Proto-Indo-European *leh?b- (“to lap, lick”); akin to Old High German laffen (“to lick”), Old Norse lepja, Danish labe, Old Saxon lepil, German Löffel (“spoon”). Cognate with Latin lambere (“lick”). French lamper is a loanword from German. Compare Danish leffe, dialect German läffeln.

Verb

lap (third-person singular simple present laps, present participle lapping, simple past and past participle lapped)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To take (liquid) into the mouth with the tongue; to lick up with a quick motion of the tongue.
   • 1644, Kenelm Digby, Two Treatises

     The dogs by the River Nilus's side, being thirsty, lap hastily […] as they run along the shore.

2. (intransitive, of water) To wash against a surface with a splashing sound; to swash.
   • ?, Alfred Tennyson, The Passing of Arthur

     I heard the ripple washing in the reeds, / And the wild water lapping on the crag.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

lap (countable and uncountable, plural laps)

1. The taking of liquid into the mouth with the tongue.
   • 1955, Ann Haven Morgan, Kinships of Animals and Man: A Textbook of Animal Biology (page 176)

     With each lap of its tongue a cat gathers up milk and throws it well back into the gateway of its throat […]

2. (obsolete, slang, uncountable) Liquor; alcoholic drink.

References

• 1873, John Camden Hotten, The Slang Dictionary

Further reading

• “laper” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
• Bratchet, A. (1873) , “laper”, in Kitchin, G. W., transl., Etymological dictionary of the French language (Clarendon Press Series), 1st edition, London: Oxford/MacMillan and Co.

Etymology 4

Noun

lap (plural laps)

1. (medicine, colloquial) Clipping of laparoscopy.

Adjective

lap (not comparable)

1. (medicine, colloquial) Clipping of laparoscopic.

Anagrams

• ALP, APL, LPA, PAL, PLA, Pal, Pla, alp, pal

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch lap, from Middle Dutch lap, from Old Dutch lap.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lap/

Noun

lap (plural lappe, diminutive lappie)

1. A patch, a rag, a piece of cloth.
2. A plot, a tract (of ground).

Derived terms

• lappieskombers

Albanian

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *lapa. An onomatopoeic cognate to Greek ????? (lápto, “to lick”), Lithuanian lapth (“to swallow greedily”), Proto-Slavic *lopati (“to eat greedily”), and the like.

Verb

lap (first-person singular past tense lapa)

1. to slurp, lap up

Derived terms

• lëpij
• lëpis

References

Azerbaijani

Etymology

From Middle Mongolian ??? (lab). Compare Mongolian ??? (lav, “clearly, actually, surely, evidently”).

Adverb

lap

1. even (emphasizing a comparative or superlative)

2. very
3. downright, right, immediately, directly used to emphasize the following phrase

Usage notes

Determiner

lap

1. very (the same; identical) (especially when used with h?min)

References

Further reading

• “lap” in Obastan.com.

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /l?p/
• Hyphenation: lap
• Rhymes: -?p

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch lap, lappe, from Old Dutch lap, from Proto-Germanic *lappa-, *lappô (“rag, cloth”), of uncertain origin, possibly Proto-Indo-European *leb- (“to hang loosely”). Cognate with German Lappen.

Noun

lap m (plural lappen, diminutive lapje n)

1. A rag, a piece of cloth.
2. A patch, a piece of cloth.
3. A slice of meat.
4. A plot, a tract (of ground).

Derived terms

Descendants

• Afrikaans: lap
• Indonesian: lap
• Papiamentu: lapi

See also

• (rag): vod

References

Etymology 2

Probably from sense 1, which dialectically meant "blow, strike" and evolved into "stupidity." Or, possibly from an original sense of "lap up," referring to sloppy children, for which see English lap.

Noun

lap m (plural lappen, diminutive lapje n)

1. (obsolete, except in compounds) A bloke, dude, bum; especially a drunk or objectionable one.

Derived terms

Further reading

• van der Sijs, Nicoline, editor (2010) , “lap2”, in Etymologiebank, Meertens Institute

Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Interjection

lap

1. (chiefly Belgium) exclamation of dismay, disappointment

Etymology 4

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

lap

1. first-person singular present indicative of lappen
2. imperative of lappen

Anagrams

• pal

Hungarian

Etymology

From Proto-Uralic *lapp? (“flat surface”), either directly or as a back-formation from lapos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?l?p]
• Hyphenation: lap
• Rhymes: -?p

Noun

lap (plural lapok)

1. sheet (thin, flat piece of any solid material)
2. sheet (piece of paper, usually rectangular, that has been prepared for writing, printing or other uses)
3. (proscribed, archaic) page (one side of a written or printed paper sheet)
4. newspaper, magazine, periodical (publication issued regularly)
5. greeting card, postcard (decorated card made of thick paper that is sent or given to someone)
6. playing card (one piece out of a pack of cards used to play games)
7. (computing) tab (virtual space of a window where one of many simultaneously opened documents is displayed)
8. (geometry) face (any of the flat bounding surfaces of a polyhedron)

   Synonym: (a less technical term in this sense) oldal
9. (in the possessive) top (the flat, horizontal surface of a table or desk)
10. (in the possessive) flat (flat side of something, as opposed to the edge)

Declension

Derived terms

References

Further reading

• lap in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh: A magyar nyelv értelmez? szótára (’The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: ?ISBN

Indonesian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?lap?]
• Hyphenation: lap

Etymology 1

From Dutch lap, from Middle Dutch lap, lappe, from Old Dutch lap, from Proto-Germanic *lappa-, *lappô (“rag, cloth”), of uncertain origin, possibly Proto-Indo-European *leb- (“to hang loosely”).

Noun

lap (plural lap-lap, first-person possessive lapku, second-person possessive lapmu, third-person possessive lapnya)

1. a rag, a piece of cloth.

Etymology 2

From English lap, from Middle English lappen (“to fold, wrap”) from earlier wlappen (“to fold, wrap”), from Old English *wlappan, *wlæppan, *wlappian (“to wrap”), from Proto-Germanic *wlapp-, *wrapp- (“to wrap, fold, roll up, turn”), from Proto-Indo-European *werb- (“to bend, turn”)

Noun

lap (plural lap-lap, first-person possessive lapku, second-person possessive lapmu, third-person possessive lapnya)

1. lap:
   1. one circuit around a race track, or

      Synonym: putaran

   2. one traversal down and then back the length of a pool

Further reading

• “lap” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (KBBI) Daring, Jakarta: Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia, 2016.

Mòcheno

Etymology

From Middle High German loup, from Old High German loup, from Proto-West Germanic *laub, from Proto-Germanic *laub? (“leaf”). Cognate with German Laub, English leaf.

Noun

lap n

1. leaf

References

• “lap” in Cimbrian, Ladin, Mòcheno: Getting to know 3 peoples. 2015. Servizio minoranze linguistiche locali della Provincia autonoma di Trento, Trento, Italy.

Phalura

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lap/

Adverb

lap (Perso-Arabic spelling ??)

1. quickly
2. soon

Alternative forms

• lab

References

• Liljegren, Henrik; Haider, Naseem (2011) Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)?^[12], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, ?ISBN

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English laugh.

Noun

lap

1. laughter

Verb

lap

1. to laugh

English

Etymology

From Middle English lai, lay, from Old French lai (“song, lyric, poem”), from Old Frankish *laik, *laih (“play, melody, song”), from Proto-Germanic *laikaz, *laikiz (“jump, play, dance, hymn”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyg- (“to jump, spring, play”). Akin to Old High German leih (“a play, skit, melody, song”), Middle High German leich (“piece of music, epic song played on a harp”), Gothic ???????????????????? (laiks, “a dance”), Old English l?can (“to move quickly, fence, sing”). More at lake.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /la?/
• Rhymes: -a?
• Homophones: lie, lye

Noun

lai (plural lais)

1. (historical) A mostly North European medieval form of lyrical, narrative poem written in octosyllabic couplets that often deals with tales of adventure and romance., with stanzas that do not repeat.

See also

• lai on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• -ial, Ali, IAL, LIA, ail, ali-

Aromanian

Alternative forms

• laiu

Etymology

Uncertain. Compare Romanian lai, Albanian ljaj.

Adjective

lai

1. black
2. (figuratively) poor, miserable, unfortunate
3. (figuratively) wicked, bad

Synonyms

• (black): negru
• (poor, unfortunate): mãrat, curbusit, stuhinat, scurpisit, buisit, vãpsit
• (wicked, bad): arãu, slab, urut, cãtrãcearcu, afischcu, tihilai, blãstimat

Related terms

• lãeatsã
• lãiturã
• lãescu
• lãilji

Bourguignon

Etymology

From Latin illa.

Article

lai (masculine le or lou, plural les)

1. (feminine nouns) the

Estonian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *lakja, originally from a Germanic source. Cognate to Finnish laaja, Livonian laiga.

Adjective

lai (genitive laia, partitive laia, comparative laiem, superlative kõige laiem)

1. wide, broad

Declension

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /l?/

Etymology 1

From Middle French lai, from Old French lai (“song, lyric, poem”), from Frankish *laik, *laih (“play, melody, song”), from Proto-Germanic *laikaz, *laikiz (“jump, play, dance, hymn”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyg- (“to jump, spring, play”). Akin to Old High German leih (“a play, skit, melody, song”), Middle High German leich (“piece of music, epic song played on a harp”), Old English l?can (“to move quickly, fence, sing”). More at lake. Alternatively from Celtic; compare Old Irish laíd (“poem”).

Noun

lai m (plural lais)

1. (historical) A mostly North European medieval form of lyrical, narrative poem written in octosyllabic couplets that often deals with tales of adventure and romance., with stanzas that do not repeat.

Etymology 2

From Old French lai, from Latin l?icus. Doublet of laïque.

Adjective

lai (feminine singular laie, masculine plural lais, feminine plural laies)

1. lay, equivalent to French laïc, laïque (relating to laypersons as opposed to clerical).

   Only used in the phrase "frères lais"; means religious servants not (yet) having been admitted to the priestly dignity.

Anagrams

• ail, lia

Further reading

• “lai” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Ido

Noun

lai

1. plural of la

Istriot

Noun

lai

1. side

Adverb

lai

1. here (this place)
   • 1877, Antonio Ive, Canti popolari istriani: raccolti a Rovigno, volume 5, Ermanno Loescher, page 40:

     Vuoltite biunduleîna inverso lai,

     Turn around towards this place, little blonde,

Iu Mien

Etymology

From Proto-Hmong-Mien *-?ræi (“vegetable”). Cognate with White Hmong zaub and Western Xiangxi Miao [Fenghuang] reib.

Noun

lai 

1. vegetable

Khasi

Numeral

lai

1. three

Laboya

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *laki?. Cognate with Indonesian laki.

Noun

lai

1. husband

References

• Rina, A. Dj.; Kabba, John Lado B. (2011) , “lai”, in Kamus Bahasa Lamboya, Kabupaten Sumba Bakat [Dictionary of Lamboya Language, West Sumba Regency], Waikabubak: Dinas Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata, Kabupaten Sumba Bakat, page 58
• Laboya in Austronesian Comparative Dictionary

Latvian

Etymology

Traditionally, lai is derived from the imperative form of the verb laist (“to allow, to permit”) (quod vide): laid ? lai, an evolution reminiscent of Russian ?????? (puskaj), ????? (pust?, “let, so be”) from ??????? (puskat?, “to allow, to permit”). The form laid is indeed attested as a conjunction in the earliest sources. This view, however, has been recently criticized on the basis that Latvian lai, Lithuanian la? are clearly related to Old Prussian -lai, which is added to (usually infinitive) verbs to indicate volitive or conditional mood. This suggests a Proto-Baltic form *lai, probably related to the final -le of Latvian reinforcing particles jele ~ jel, nule, and (dialectal) nele, and to Old Prussian -le, apparently a variant of -lai. This *le would then have the same origin as Proto-Slavic *li (compare Polish li (“only”) Russian ?? (li)), with cognates in other languages (Albanian, Tocharian) from a basic Proto-Indo-European *l-. After this criticism, the relationship between lai and laist has become unclear. Maybe Proto-Indo-European *l- was an old verb, or maybe laist was derived from an older particle.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [laî]

Conjunction

lai

1. with the conditional, indicating purpose, sometimes cause; sometimes correlating with t?p?c, t?d?? in the main clause; so that, in order to, in order that

2. indicating concession, especially in the combinations lai gan, lai ar?; though, although, even though

3. indicating strong concession, in combination with ar?, nu, vai and with interrogative pronouns like cik, k?ds, kurš, kas, kur; no matter how, which, who, what, where; however, wherever, whichever, whoever, whatever, wherever

4. after certain verbs, introducing a direct object clause; that, for ... to, to

5. indicating manner and/or purpose, usually correlating with an adverb like t? (“like that”) in the main clause; so that, such that, in such a way that

6. indicating consequence, especially with tik (“so (much)”), p?r?k (“too much”) and an adjective or participle in the main clause; so that, so ... that, too (much) ... for, to, that

Particle

lai

1. used to express an optative (wish) nuance: may, may it be that

2. used to express encouragement, agreement: let

3. used to mark third person imperative forms of verbs; sometimes used with the first person also: let

4. used to give a nuance of indecision or doubt, especially in a question should, could

5. (colloquial) used to add strength to a word or expression, to link it more tightly to the rest of the sentence

6. used to reinforce a word, highlighting it among others

7. used, sometimes with nu or ir, to indicate tolerance of, or agreement with, someone else

References

Maia

Noun

lai

1. beach

Mandarin

Romanization

lai

1. Nonstandard spelling of lái.
2. Nonstandard spelling of l?i.
3. Nonstandard spelling of lài.

Usage notes

• English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

Maroon Spirit Language

Etymology

From English lie.

Noun

lai (plural lais)

1. lie (intentionally false statement)

Old French

Noun

lai m (oblique plural lais, nominative singular lais, nominative plural lai)

1. lai (Medieval text)

Adjective

lai m (oblique and nominative feminine singular laie)

1. ugly

Descendants

• French: laid

Old Irish

Noun

lai

1. Alternative spelling of laí

Pnar

Etymology

From Proto-Khasian *la:j ~ *la:c. The expected reflex is *le. Cognate with Khasi leit.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /laj/

Verb

lai 

1. to go

Romanian

Alternative forms

• l?u

Etymology

Uncertain. Several explanations exist. One derives it from Albanian ljaj, itself possibly from Latin flavus, but this is uncertain, and it may be that the Albanian is derived from Proto-Romanian (or Aromanian- compare the cognate laiu, lae in this language). Other theories suggest a Romanian root *g?lai, from Latin galla or alternatively an etymology from labes (“fault, defect”), extending the meaning to "spot" and hence, "black" or "dark", but as it is a secondary meaning in Latin, this is not very likely. A more likely explanation may be a relation to the verb la (“to wash”), as lai is used mostly to describe the natural color of wool resulting from washing (compare the similar secondary senses of Spanish crudo, French écru).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /laj/

Adjective

lai m or n (feminine singular laie, plural l?i)

1. (popular) black (or black mixed with white), gray

Declension

Synonyms

• negru
• brum?riu

References

Romansch

Etymology 1

From Latin lacus, from Proto-Italic *lakus, from Proto-Indo-European *lókus (“lake, pool”).

Noun

lai m (plural lais)

1. lake

Alternative forms

• (Sursilvan, Sutsilvan) lag
• (Sutsilvan) laitg
• (Puter) lej

Etymology 2

From Latin lectus.

Noun

lai f (plural lais)

1. (Vallader) marriage, matrimony

Alternative forms

• (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Surmiran) lètg
• (Puter) alach
• (Sutsilvan) letg

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà N?i) IPA^(key): [la?j??]
• (Hu?) IPA^(key): [la?j??]
• (H? Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [la?j??]

Etymology 1

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese ? (“mule”, SV: la, loa).

Verb

lai

1. Short for lai gi?ng (“to crossbreed”).

Adjective

lai

1. of mixed blood; crossbred

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Noun

lai

1. (Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam) hemline; turn-up

Etymology 3

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese ? (“a weight unit”, SV: li).

Noun

lai

1. (Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam) hundredth part of a tael (equal to 0.378 g)

Etymology 4

Verb

lai

1. (Central Vietnam) to carry (someone) on one's bicycle or motorbike pillion; to give someone a lift on the bicycle or motorbike
2. to tow

Etymology 5

Noun

(classifier cây) lai

1. candlenut; candleberry (Aleurites moluccanus)

Welsh

Adjective

lai

1. Soft mutation of llai (“smaller”).

Mutation

Zhuang

Etymology

From Proto-Tai *?la?j? (“many; much”), from Old Chinese ? (OC *[t.l]?aj) (B-S). Cognate with Thai ???? (l?ai), Northern Thai ??????, Lao ???? (l?i), Lü ?? (l?aay), Khün ??????, Shan ??? (l?ay), Bouyei laail, Saek ?????. Compare Jizhao la?i²¹.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Zhuang) IPA^(key): /la?i??/
• Tone numbers: lai¹
• Hyphenation: lai

Adjective

lai (Sawndip forms ???? or ? or ???? or ????, old orthography lai)

1. many, much, a lot

   Antonym: noix

Derived terms

• geijlai
• haujlai

Adverb

lai (Sawndip forms ???? or ? or ???? or ????, old orthography lai)

1. more
2. comparatively; more
3. too; exceedingly; very