English word origin

Etymology of onlay

From Middle English onleien, onleggen (“to lay or place; impose; attack”). Equivalent to on- + lay.

2 source sectionsBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

verb

To lay or place something on a surface.

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

From Middle English onleien, onleggen (“to lay or place; impose; attack”). Equivalent to on- + lay.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentiononleienenm

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "onleien"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English onleien"
    },
    {
      "name": "pre",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "on",
        "3": "lay"
      },
      "expansion": "on- + lay"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "onleien",
      "onleien#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "onleggen",
      "onleggen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "on-",
      "on-#English"
    ],
    [
      "lay",
      "lay#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To lay or place something on a surface."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "literary",
        "transitive"
      ],
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

A material placed such that it overlaps another. · A restoration that covers one or more cusps of a tooth.

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

From on- + lay.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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    {
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "on",
        "3": "lay"
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    }
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      "on-",
      "on-#English"
    ],
    [
      "lay",
      "lay#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A material placed such that it overlaps another.",
        "A restoration that covers one or more cusps of a tooth."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "attributive",
        "countable",
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        "uncountable"
      ],
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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 onlay →

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-b25sYXk