Chapter Law-abiding to Lay of L by Webster's Dictionary (1913 Edition)

lay to (b) To put before. Hos. xi. 4. —

To lay up. (a) To store; to reposit for future use. (b) To confine; to disable. (c) To dismantle, and retire from active service, as a ship. — To lay wait for, to lie in ambush for. — To lay waste, to destroy; to make desolate; as, to lay waste the land.

Syn. — See Put, v. t., and the Note under 4th Lie.

Lay
(Lay), v. i.

1. To produce and deposit eggs.

2. (Naut.) To take a position; to come or go; as, to lay forward; to lay aloft.

3. To lay a wager; to bet.

To lay about, or To lay about one, to strike vigorously in all directions. J. H. Newman. — To lay at, to strike or strike at. Spenser. — To lay for, to prepare to capture or assault; to lay wait for. [Colloq.] Bp Hall. — To lay in for, to make overtures for; to engage or secure the possession of. [Obs.] "I have laid in for these." Dryden. — To lay on, to strike; to beat; to attack. Shak. — To lay out, to purpose; to plan; as, he lays out to make a journey.

Lay
(Lay) n.

1. 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. Addison.

A viol should have a lay of wire strings below.

Bacon.

The lay of a rope is right-handed or left-handed according to the hemp or strands are laid up. See Lay, v. t., 16. The lay of land is its topographical situation, esp. its slope and its surface features.

2. A wager. "My fortunes against any lay worth naming."

3. (a) A job, price, or profit. [Prov. Eng.] Wright. (b) 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. [U. S.]

4. (Textile Manuf.) (a) A measure of yarn; a lea. See 1st Lea (a). (b) The lathe of a loom. See Lathe, 3.

5. A plan; a scheme. [Slang] Dickens.

Lay figure. (a) A jointed model of the human body that may be put in any attitude; — used for showing the disposition of drapery, etc. (b) A mere puppet; one who serves the will of others without independent volition. — Lay race, that part of a lay on which the shuttle travels in weaving; — called also shuttle race.