*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Lay

* As an English surname, spelling variant of Lee. * As a Scottish surname, reduced from McClay. * As a Khmer surname, Khmer ឡាយ (laay). * As a French surname, from several place names in France. The river is from Medieva

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
name

A river in western France. · A surname.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

* As an English surname, spelling variant of Lee. * As a Scottish surname, reduced from McClay. * As a Khmer surname, Khmer ឡាយ (laay). * As a French surname, from several place names in France. The river is from Medieval Latin Ledius. * As a German surname, from various placenames in Bavaria and Rhineland.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "km",
        "3": "ឡាយ"
      },
      "expansion": "Khmer ឡាយ (laay)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "French"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-med",
        "3": "Ledius"
      },
      "expansion": "Medieval Latin Ledius"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "de",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "German"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Lee",
      "Lee#English"
    ],
    [
      "McClay",
      "McClay#English"
    ],
    [
      "ឡាយ",
      "ឡាយ#Khmer"
    ],
    [
      "Ledius",
      "Ledius#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "Bavaria",
      "Bavaria"
    ],
    [
      "Rhineland",
      "Rhineland"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A river in western France.",
        "A surname."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "6e2ef8e8f7d4dd756805559f54c95c9bfbed6c1ef5430e9a56c888de7a47a800",
      "rawRecordSha256": "11e24ab3c4d40c2b51122213dd5304ce264e25cc917ad0d6b856ed0c9bbf4c1f",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 4785132
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Lay →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-TGF5