Word of the Day : May 15, 2018

layman \LAY-mun\ noun

Definition

1 : a person who is not a member of the clergy

2 : a person who does not belong to a particular profession or who is not expert in some field

Did You Know?

Layman began its run in English as the open compound lay man. In this context, lay is an adjective that can mean "belonging or relating to those not in holy orders," "not of the clergy," and "not ecclesiastical." The origins of lay and layman can be traced back through French and Late Latin to Greek laikos, meaning "of the people." Layman was originally used to distinguish between non-clerical people and the clergy, but it was soon also being used to distinguish non-professionals from professionals in a field (such as law or medicine). The phrase layman’s terms is used to refer to simple language about a topic that even non-experts in the field can understand.

Build your vocabulary! Get Word of the Day in your inbox every day.

Test Your Vocabulary



  Farm Idioms Quiz








    What does 'poke' refer to in the expression 'pig in a poke'?




                                  bag
                                  state of difficulty
                                  stable
                                  mud pit








    Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!
    TAKE THE QUIZ






    Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
    TAKE THE QUIZ

Aired May 15, 2018

All Merriam-Webster content is available at www.merriam-webster.com