*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of inlay

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Germanic *in Proto-West Germanic *in Old English in Old English in- Middle English in- English in- Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European

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 ↗
verb

To place (pieces of a foreign material) within another material to form a decorative design. · To place an inlay in a tooth.

noun

The material placed within a different material in the form of a decoration. · A filling for a tooth, made of ceramic or gold to fit the cavity and shape of tooth and cemented into place. · The piece of paper or the booklet inside the case of a compact disc, DVD, or cassette.

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

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Germanic *in Proto-West Germanic *in Old English in Old English in- Middle English in- English in- Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Indo-European *logʰéyeti Proto-Germanic *lagjaną Proto-West Germanic *laggjan Old English leċġan Middle English leyen English lay English inlay From in- + lay.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "in-<id:gem-into>",
        "4": "lay<id:place>",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₁én\nProto-Germanic *in\nProto-West Germanic *in\nOld English in\nOld English in-\nMiddle English in-\nEnglish in-\nProto-Indo-European *legʰ-\nProto-Indo-European *-yeti\nProto-Indo-European *-éyeti\nProto-Indo-European *logʰéyeti\nProto-Germanic *lagjaną\nProto-West Germanic *laggjan\nOld English leċġan\nMiddle English leyen\nEnglish lay\nEnglish inlay\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*in\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*in\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"in\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"in-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"in-\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"in-\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }, { \"id\" : \"place\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*legʰ-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"forming verbs\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-yeti\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-éyeti\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*logʰéyeti\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*lagjaną\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*laggjan\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"leċġan\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"leyen\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"lay\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"inlay\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"inlay\">\nFrom in- + lay."
    },
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      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "in-<id:gem-into>",
        "4": "lay<id:place>",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₁én\nProto-Germanic *in\nProto-West Germanic *in\nOld English in\nOld English in-\nMiddle English in-\nEnglish in-\nProto-Indo-European *legʰ-\nProto-Indo-European *-yeti\nProto-Indo-European *-éyeti\nProto-Indo-European *logʰéyeti\nProto-Germanic *lagjaną\nProto-West Germanic *laggjan\nOld English leċġan\nMiddle English leyen\nEnglish lay\nEnglish inlay\nFrom in- + lay."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*h₁én",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁én"
    ],
    [
      "*in",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/in"
    ],
    [
      "*in",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/in"
    ],
    [
      "in",
      "in#Old_English:_preposition"
    ],
    [
      "in-",
      "in-#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "in-",
      "in-#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "in-",
      "in-#English:_gem-into"
    ],
    [
      "*legʰ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/legʰ-"
    ],
    [
      "*-yeti",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-yeti#Proto-Indo-European:_forming_verbs"
    ],
    [
      "*-éyeti",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-éyeti"
    ],
    [
      "*logʰéyeti",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/logʰéyeti"
    ],
    [
      "*lagjaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/lagjaną"
    ],
    [
      "*laggjan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/laggjan"
    ],
    [
      "leċġan",
      "lecgan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "leyen",
      "leyen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "lay",
      "lay#English:_place"
    ],
    [
      "in-",
      "in-#English:_gem-into"
    ],
    [
      "lay",
      "lay#English:_place"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To place (pieces of a foreign material) within another material to form a decorative design.",
        "To place an inlay in a tooth."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "also",
        "figuratively"
      ],
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    },
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      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The material placed within a different material in the form of a decoration.",
        "A filling for a tooth, made of ceramic or gold to fit the cavity and shape of tooth and cemented into place.",
        "The piece of paper or the booklet inside the case of a compact disc, DVD, or cassette."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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  ],
  "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 inlay →

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-aW5sYXk