PERMANENT SOURCE RECORD
ALL SOURCES ↗BIBLIOGRAPHIC IDENTITYmw-lay
SOURCE
RECORD.
One work. Every claim that depends on it. No citation without a consequence you can inspect.
5 PUBLIC LINKS INTO THE GRAPH.
This count excludes duplicate dossier-path citations. Open the claims below to see exactly how the source is used.
historical dictionarymw-lay
Lay — Definition, Word History, and First Known Use
- AUTHOR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster Editors
- YEAR
- 2026
- PUBLISHER
- Merriam-Webster
- DOI
- Not recorded
- SOURCE TYPE
- historical dictionary
- EXTERNAL RECORD
- OPEN ORIGINAL ↗
010
CONTRARIAN TRUTH CLAIMS
RANKED REVEALS THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
No ranked contrarian reveal currently cites this source.
021
SCHOLARLY DISAGREEMENT
DISPUTE POSITIONS THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
resolvedcontextestablished
Are all English words spelled lay one historical word?
No. The set-down verb is inherited from Old English lecgan; the poem noun and non-clerical adjective come through distinct French, Latin, and Greek histories.
Separate numbered Word History entriesIndependently distinguishes the inherited verb from the French and Latin homonyms.
032
CANONICAL RELATIONSHIP CLAIMS
EDGES THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
EDGE 510supportsestablished
lay → leggen / leyen
Present-Day English → Middle English · historical continuation
- SOUND
- Middle English leggen / leyen stabilizes as lay while pronunciation and spelling converge on the modern form.
- MEANING
- Putting or setting down remains central while many constructions and figurative uses develop.
- SCHOLAR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster · Etymonline · American Heritage editors
Word History and verb sensesDocuments the English verb and its Middle English history.
EDGE 511supportsestablished
leggen / leyen → lecgan
Middle English → Old English · inheritance
- SOUND
- Old English lecgan continues into Middle English with palatal and spelling developments represented by leggen and leyen.
- MEANING
- The causative set-down meaning remains stable.
- SCHOLAR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster · Etymonline · American Heritage editors
Word History: Old English lecganDocuments the Old English parent.
041
LEXICAL ATTESTATIONS
WITNESSES REPORTED BY THIS SOURCE
laySOURCE-REPORTED
lecgan
Merriam-Webster source-reported Old English record
OPEN WITNESS 129 ↗050
COMPARATIVE EVIDENCE
COGNATES, DESCENDANTS, AND RELATIVES
No comparative-relative record currently cites this source.
061
GEOGRAPHIC AND TEMPORAL CLAIMS
JOURNEY STAGES THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
stage 2supports
Anglo-Saxon England
Reports the Old English form and before-bound.
Word History and First Known Use: Old English lecgan, before 12th century · regional070
NON-GENEALOGICAL CONNECTIONS
HISTORICAL CONTEXT, KEPT SEPARATE
No non-genealogical context link currently cites this source.
081
WORD-FAMILY REUSE
DOSSIERS THAT DEPEND ON THIS SOURCE
2 entry-scoped citations map reviewed dossier paths onto the canonical claims above.