*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of laity

From Anglo-Norman laite, from Latin laitas, from Ancient Greek λαός (laós, “people”).

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 ↗
noun

People of a church who are not ordained clergy or clerics. · The common man or woman. · The unlearned, untrained or ignorant.

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

From Anglo-Norman laite, from Latin laitas, from Ancient Greek λαός (laós, “people”).

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": "uder",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "xno",
        "3": "laite"
      },
      "expansion": "Anglo-Norman laite"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "laitas",
        "4": ""
      },
      "expansion": "Latin laitas"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "λαός",
        "4": "",
        "5": "people"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek λαός (laós, “people”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "laite",
      "laite#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "laitas",
      "laitas#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "λαός",
      "λαός#Ancient_Greek"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "People of a church who are not ordained clergy or clerics.",
        "The common man or woman.",
        "The unlearned, untrained or ignorant."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "d9eb6846fadc8ba09397456fe45da2f39a02b15298cf7b9d74bb1709eeaa1af0",
      "rawRecordSha256": "b39213f7bf1a6e2566851ff45206978adfab987300b52715a52fc58fc6d52696",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 191880
    }
  ],
  "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 laity →

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-bGFpdHk