- Lay brother
- Lay Lay, a. [F. lai, L. laicus, Gr. ? of or from the people,
lay, from ?, ?, people. Cf. {Laic}.]
1. Of or pertaining to the laity, as distinct from the
clergy; as, a lay person; a lay preacher; a lay brother.
[1913 Webster]
2. Not educated or cultivated; ignorant. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
3. Not belonging to, or emanating from, a particular profession; unprofessional; as, a lay opinion regarding the nature of a disease. [1913 Webster]
{Lay baptism} (Eccl.), baptism administered by a lay person. --F. G. Lee.
{Lay brother} (R. C. Ch.), one received into a convent of monks under the three vows, but not in holy orders.
{Lay clerk} (Eccl.), a layman who leads the responses of the congregation, etc., in the church service. --Hook.
{Lay days} (Com.), time allowed in a charter party for taking in and discharging cargo. --McElrath.
{Lay elder}. See 2d {Elder}, 3, note. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.