Lay

Nonprofessional, such as a lay witness who is not a recognized expert in the area that is the subject of the person's testimony. That which relates to persons or entities not clerical or ecclesiastical; a person not in ecclesiastical orders. To present the formal declarations by the parties of their respective claims and defenses in pleadings. A share of the profits of a fishing or Whaling voyage, allotted to the officers and seamen, in the nature of wages.

LAY, English law. That which relates to persons or things not ecclesiastical. In the United States the people are not, by law, divided, as in England, into ecclesiastical and lay. The law makes no distinction between them.

TO LAY, pleading. To state or to allege. The place from whence a jury are to be summoned, is called the venue, and the allegation in the declaration, of the place where the jury is to be summoned, is in technical language, said to lay the venue. 3 Steph. Com. 574; 3 Bouv. Inst. n. 2826.

A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States. By John Bouvier. Published 1856.

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

UNRWA said reconstruction work in the first section of the camp during Ramadan was slow and not as expected, urging the firm responsible for the reconstruction to "lay down a detailed action plan after Eid al-Fitr to compensate for the slow work."

UNRWA calls for detailed plan for Nahr al-Bared reconstruction

Or we can lay down our possessions to make provision for the poor.

SUNDAY SERMON

Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi said that the terrorist organization PKK would leave Iraq if it did not lay down arms.

(DIP) IRAQI VICE PRESIDENT SAYS PKK TO LEAVE COUNTRY IF NOT LAY DOWN ARMS

Jose and I lay down on a blanket under a tree, waiting for the food."

Young Female, Traveling Alone

(And no "layed" at all--ever--despite that nonword's popularity.) So it is always wrong to say we "laid down" yesterday when we mean that we rested or reclined or lay down yesterday.

Lay or lie? Some simple tips for proper usage

Jesus laid down his life for us; so we too should lay down our lives, I will not say for him, but for ourselves and also, surely, for those who will be helped by the example of our martyrdom.

Text from the breviary

He lay down, and he never lay down if he wasn't feeling well.

Armed for attacks: with a little self-education and a lot of time and effort, proactive parents can minimize asthma's effects

Its proposal would also lay down requirements for cabin crews, regarding age, medical fitness, training and certificates of professional competence.

Civil aviation workers

"There is no greater love than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." He exemplified this love himself by dying on the cross for the sins of the world.

The real Jesus of Nazareth: Jesus of Nazareth has had a more profound influence on human history than any person who ever lived

They were marching off to war to lay down their lives for their country but, more important, they were laying down their lives for their friends.

Grandpa's stories of greater love: what lies beyond bravery and duty