Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - lay

 I. verb  (laid; ~ing)  Etymology: Middle English leyen, from Old English lecgan; akin to Old English licgan to lie — more at lie  Date: before 12th century  transitive verb  1. to beat or strike down with force  2.  a. to put or set down ~ your books on the table  b. to place for rest or sleep; especially bury  3. to bring forth and deposit (an egg)  4. calm, al~ ~ the dust  5. bet, wager  6. to press down giving a smooth and even surface  7.  a. to dispose or spread over or on a surface ~ track ~ plaster  b. to set in order or position ~ a table for dinner ~ brick  c. to put (strands) in place and twist to form a rope, hawser, or cable; also to make by so doing ~ up rope  8.  a. to impose as a duty, burden, or punishment ~ a tax  b. to put as a burden of reproach laid the blame on her  c. to advance as an accusation ; impute the disaster was laid to faulty inspection  9. to place (something immaterial) on something ~ stress on grammar  10. prepare, contrive a well-laid plan  11.  a. to bring against or into contact with something ; apply laid the watch to his ear  b. to prepare or position for action or operation ~ a fire in the fireplace; also to adjust (a gun) to the proper direction and elevation  12. to bring to a specified condition ~ waste the land  13.  a. assert, allege ~ claim to an estate  b. to submit for examination and judgment laid her case before the commission  14. often vulgar to copulate with  intransitive verb  1. to produce and deposit eggs  2. nonstandard lie I  3. wager, bet  4. dialect plan, prepare  5.  a. to apply oneself vigorously laid to his oars  b. to proceed to a specified place or position on a ship ~ aloft Usage:  ~ has been used intransitively in the sense of “lie” since the 14th century. The practice was unremarked until around 1770; attempts to correct it have been a fixture of schoolbooks ever since. Generations of teachers and critics have succeeded in taming most literary and learned writing, but intransitive ~ persists in familiar speech and is a bit more common in general prose than one might suspect. Much of the problem lies in the confusing similarity of the principal parts of the two words. Another influence may be a folk belief that lie is for people and ~ is for things. Some commentators are ready to abandon the distinction, suggesting that ~ is on the rise socially. But if it does rise to respectability, it is sure to do so slowly: many people have invested effort in learning to keep lie and ~ distinct. Remember that even though many people do use ~ for lie, others will judge you unfavorably if you do.  II. noun  Date: 1590  1. covert, lair  2. something (as a ~er) that lies or is laid  3.  a. line of action ; plan  b. line of work ; occupation  4.  a. terms of sale or employment ; price  b. share of profit (as on a whaling voyage) paid in lieu of wages  5.  a. the amount of advance of any point in a rope strand for one turn  b. the nature of a fiber rope as determined by the amount of twist, the angle of the strands, and the angle of the threads in the strands  6. the way in which a thing lies or is laid in relation to something else the ~ of the land  7. the state of one that ~s eggs hens coming into ~  8.  a. usually vulgar a partner in sexual intercourse  b. usually vulgar sexual intercourse  III. past of lie  IV. noun  Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French lai  Date: 13th century  1. a simple narrative poem ; ballad  2. melody, song  V. adjective  Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French lai, from Late Latin laicus, from Greek laikos of the people, from laos people  Date: 15th century  1. of or relating to the laity ; not ecclesiastical  2. of or relating to members of a religious house occupied with domestic or manual work a ~ brother  3. not of a particular profession the ~ public; also lacking extensive knowledge of a particular subject