lay
from
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
lay
adj 1: characteristic of those who are not members of the
clergy; "set his collar in laic rather than clerical
position"; "the lay ministry" [syn: {laic}, {lay},
{secular}]
2: not of or from a profession; "a lay opinion as to the cause
of the disease"
n 1: a narrative song with a recurrent refrain [syn: {ballad},
{lay}]
2: a narrative poem of popular origin [syn: {ballad}, {lay}]
v 1: put into a certain place or abstract location; "Put your
things here"; "Set the tray down"; "Set the dogs on the
scent of the missing children"; "Place emphasis on a
certain point" [syn: {put}, {set}, {place}, {pose},
{position}, {lay}]
2: put in a horizontal position; "lay the books on the table";
"lay the patient carefully onto the bed" [syn: {lay}, {put
down}, {repose}]
3: prepare or position for action or operation; "lay a fire";
"lay the foundation for a new health care plan"
4: lay eggs; "This hen doesn't lay"
5: impose as a duty, burden, or punishment; "lay a
responsibility on someone"
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Lay \Lay\, v. i.
1. To produce and deposit eggs.
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2. (Naut.) To take a position; to come or go; as, to lay
forward; to lay aloft.
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3. To lay a wager; to bet.
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{To lay about}, or {To lay about one}, to strike vigorously
in all directions. --J. H. Newman.
{To lay at}, to strike or strike at. --Spenser.
{To lay for}, to prepare to capture or assault; to lay wait
for. [Colloq.] --Bp Hall.
{To lay in for}, to make overtures for; to engage or secure
the possession of. [Obs.] "I have laid in for these."
--Dryden.
{To lay on}, to strike; to beat; to attack. --Shak.
{To lay out}, to purpose; to plan; as, he lays out to make a
journey.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Lay \Lay\, n.
1. That which lies or is laid or is conceived of as having
been laid or placed in its position; a row; a stratum; a
layer; as, a lay of stone or wood. --Addison.
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A viol should have a lay of wire strings below.
--Bacon.
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Note: The lay of a rope is right-handed or left-handed
according to the hemp or strands are laid up. See
{Lay}, v. t., 16. The lay of land is its topographical
situation, esp. its slope and its surface features.
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2. A wager. "My fortunes against any lay worth naming."
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3.
(a) A job, price, or profit. [Prov. Eng.] --Wright.
(b) A share of the proceeds or profits of an enterprise;
as, when a man ships for a whaling voyage, he agrees
for a certain lay. [U. S.]
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4. (Textile Manuf.)
(a) A measure of yarn; a lea. See 1st {Lea}
(a) .
(b) The lathe of a loom. See {Lathe}, 3.
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5. A plan; a scheme. [Slang] --Dickens.
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{Lay figure}.
(a) A jointed model of the human body that may be put in
any attitude; -- used for showing the disposition of
drapery, etc.
(b) A mere puppet; one who serves the will of others
without independent volition.
{Lay race}, that part of a lay on which the shuttle travels
in weaving; -- called also {shuttle race}.
{the lay of the land}, the general situation or state of
affairs.
{to get the lay of the land}, to learn the general situation
or state of affairs, especially in preparation for action.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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3. The movable swing frame of a loom, carrying the reed for
separating the warp threads and beating up the weft; --
called also {lay} and {batten}.
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{Blanchard lathe}, a lathe for turning irregular forms after
a given pattern, as lasts, gunstocks, and the like.
{Drill lathe}, or {Speed lathe}, a small lathe which, from
its high speed, is adapted for drilling; a hand lathe.
{Engine lathe}, a turning lathe in which the cutting tool has
an automatic feed; -- used chiefly for turning and boring
metals, cutting screws, etc.
{Foot lathe}, a lathe which is driven by a treadle worked by
the foot.
{Geometric lathe}. See under {Geometric}
{Hand lathe}, a lathe operated by hand; a power turning lathe
without an automatic feed for the tool.
{Slide lathe}, an engine lathe.
{Throw lathe}, a small lathe worked by one hand, while the
cutting tool is held in the other.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Lay \Lay\, a. [OF. lai, lais, prob. of Celtic origin; cf. Ir.
laoi, laoidh, song, poem, OIr. laoidh poem, verse; but cf.
also AS. l[=a]c play, sport, G. leich a sort of poem (cf.
{Lake} to sport). ?.]
1. A song; a simple lyrical poem; a ballad. --Spenser. Sir W.
Scott.
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2. A melody; any musical utterance.
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The throstle cock made eke his lay. --Chaucer.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Lay \Lay\ (l[=a]), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Laid} (l[=a]d); p. pr. &
vb. n. {Laying}.] [OE. leggen, AS. lecgan, causative, fr.
licgan to lie; akin to D. leggen, G. legen, Icel. leggja,
Goth. lagjan. See {Lie} to be prostrate.]
1. To cause to lie down, to be prostrate, or to lie against
something; to put or set down; to deposit; as, to lay a
book on the table; to lay a body in the grave; a shower
lays the dust.
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A stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the
den. --Dan. vi. 17.
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Soft on the flowery herb I found me laid. --Milton.
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2. To place in position; to establish firmly; to arrange with
regularity; to dispose in ranks or tiers; as, to lay a
corner stone; to lay bricks in a wall; to lay the covers
on a table.
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3. To prepare; to make ready; to contrive; to provide; as, to
lay a snare, an ambush, or a plan.
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4. To spread on a surface; as, to lay plaster or paint.
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5. To cause to be still; to calm; to allay; to suppress; to
exorcise, as an evil spirit.
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After a tempest when the winds are laid. --Waller.
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6. To cause to lie dead or dying.
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Brave C[ae]neus laid Ortygius on the plain,
The victor C[ae]neus was by Turnus slain. --Dryden.
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7. To deposit, as a wager; to stake; to risk.
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I dare lay mine honor
He will remain so. --Shak.
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8. To bring forth and deposit; as, to lay eggs.
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9. To apply; to put.
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She layeth her hands to the spindle. --Prov. xxxi.
19.
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10. To impose, as a burden, suffering, or punishment; to
assess, as a tax; as, to lay a tax on land.
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The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
--Is. liii. 6.
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11. To impute; to charge; to allege.
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God layeth not folly to them. --Job xxiv.
12.
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Lay the fault on us. --Shak.
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12. To impose, as a command or a duty; as, to lay commands on
one.
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13. To present or offer; as, to lay an indictment in a
particular county; to lay a scheme before one.
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14. (Law) To state; to allege; as, to lay the venue.
--Bouvier.
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15. (Mil.) To point; to aim; as, to lay a gun.
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16. (Rope Making) To put the strands of (a rope, a cable,
etc.) in their proper places and twist or unite them; as,
to lay a cable or rope.
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17. (Print.)
(a) To place and arrange (pages) for a form upon the
imposing stone.
(b) To place (new type) properly in the cases.
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{To lay asleep}, to put sleep; to make unobservant or
careless. --Bacon.
{To lay bare}, to make bare; to strip.
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And laid those proud roofs bare to summer's rain.
--Byron.
{To lay before}, to present to; to submit for consideration;
as, the papers are laid before Congress.
{To lay by}.
(a) To save.
(b) To discard.
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Let brave spirits . . . not be laid by.
--Bacon.
{To lay by the heels}, to put in the stocks. --Shak.
{To lay down}.
(a) To stake as a wager.
(b) To yield; to relinquish; to surrender; as, to lay
down one's life; to lay down one's arms.
(c) To assert or advance, as a proposition or principle.
{To lay forth}.
(a) To extend at length; (reflexively) to exert one's
self; to expatiate. [Obs.]
(b) To lay out (as a corpse). [Obs.] --Shak.
{To lay hands on}, to seize.
{To lay hands on one's self}, or {To lay violent hands on
one's self}, to injure one's self; specif., to commit
suicide.
{To lay heads together}, to consult.
{To lay hold of}, or {To lay hold on}, to seize; to catch.
{To lay in}, to store; to provide.
{To lay it on}, to apply without stint. --Shak.
{To lay it on thick}, to flatter excessively.
{To lay on}, to apply with force; to inflict; as, to lay on
blows.
{To lay on load}, to lay on blows; to strike violently. [Obs.
or Archaic]
{To lay one's self out}, to strive earnestly.
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No selfish man will be concerned to lay out himself
for the good of his country. --Smalridge.
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{To lay one's self open to}, to expose one's self to, as to
an accusation.
{To lay open}, to open; to uncover; to expose; to reveal.
{To lay over}, to spread over; to cover.
{To lay out}.
(a) To expend. --Macaulay.
(b) To display; to discover.
(c) To plan in detail; to arrange; as, to lay out a
garden.
(d) To prepare for burial; as, to lay out a corpse.
(e) To exert; as, to lay out all one's strength.
{To lay siege to}.
(a) To besiege; to encompass with an army.
(b) To beset pertinaciously.
{To lay the course} (Naut.), to sail toward the port intended
without jibing.
{To lay the land} (Naut.), to cause it to disappear below the
horizon, by sailing away from it.
{To lay to}
(a) To charge upon; to impute.
(b) To apply with vigor.
(c) To attack or harass. [Obs.] --Knolles.
(d) (Naut.) To check the motion of (a vessel) and cause
it to be stationary.
{To lay to heart}, to feel deeply; to consider earnestly.
{To lay under}, to subject to; as, to lay under obligation or
restraint.
{To lay unto}.
(a) Same as {To lay to} (above).
(b) To put before. --Hos. xi. 4.
{To lay up}.
(a) To store; to reposit for future use.
(b) To confine; to disable.
(c) To dismantle, and retire from active service, as a
ship.
{To lay wait for}, to lie in ambush for.
{To lay waste}, to destroy; to make desolate; as, to lay
waste the land.
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Syn: See {Put}, v. t., and the Note under 4th {Lie}.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Lay \Lay\, n. [OF. lei faith, law, F. loi law. See {Legal}.]
1. Faith; creed; religious profession. [Obs.]
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Of the sect to which that he was born
He kept his lay, to which that he was sworn.
--Chaucer.
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2. A law. [Obs.] "Many goodly lays." --Spenser.
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3. An obligation; a vow. [Obs.]
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They bound themselves by a sacred lay and oath.
--Holland.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Lay \Lay\, a. [F. lai, L. laicus, Gr. ? of or from the people,
lay, from ?, ?, people. Cf. {Laic}.]
1. Of or pertaining to the laity, as distinct from the
clergy; as, a lay person; a lay preacher; a lay brother.
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2. Not educated or cultivated; ignorant. [Obs.]
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3. Not belonging to, or emanating from, a particular
profession; unprofessional; as, a lay opinion regarding
the nature of a disease.
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{Lay baptism} (Eccl.), baptism administered by a lay person.
--F. G. Lee.
{Lay brother} (R. C. Ch.), one received into a convent of
monks under the three vows, but not in holy orders.
{Lay clerk} (Eccl.), a layman who leads the responses of the
congregation, etc., in the church service. --Hook.
{Lay days} (Com.), time allowed in a charter party for taking
in and discharging cargo. --McElrath.
{Lay elder}. See 2d {Elder}, 3, note.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Lie \Lie\, v. i. [imp. {Lay} (l[=a]); p. p. {Lain} (l[=a]n),
({Lien} (l[imac]"[e^]n), Obs.); p. pr. & vb. n. {Lying}.]
[OE. lien, liggen, AS. licgan; akin to D. liggen, OHG. ligen,
licken, G. liegen, Icel. liggja, Sw. ligga, Dan. ligge, Goth.
ligan, Russ. lejate, L. lectus bed, Gr. le`chos bed,
le`xasqai to lie. Cf. {Lair}, {Law}, {Lay}, v. t., {Litter},
{Low}, adj.]
1. To rest extended on the ground, a bed, or any support; to
be, or to put one's self, in an horizontal position, or
nearly so; to be prostate; to be stretched out; -- often
with down, when predicated of living creatures; as, the
book lies on the table; the snow lies on the roof; he lies
in his coffin.
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The watchful traveler . . .
Lay down again, and closed his weary eyes. --Dryden.
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2. To be situated; to occupy a certain place; as, Ireland
lies west of England; the meadows lie along the river; the
ship lay in port.
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3. To abide; to remain for a longer or shorter time; to be in
a certain state or condition; as, to lie waste; to lie
fallow; to lie open; to lie hid; to lie grieving; to lie
under one's displeasure; to lie at the mercy of the waves;
the paper does not lie smooth on the wall.
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4. To be or exist; to belong or pertain; to have an abiding
place; to consist; -- with in.
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Envy lies between beings equal in nature, though
unequal in circumstances. --Collier.
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He that thinks that diversion may not lie in hard
labor, forgets the early rising and hard riding of
huntsmen. --Locke.
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5. To lodge; to sleep.
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Whiles I was now trifling at home, I saw London, . .
. where I lay one night only. --Evelyn.
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Mr. Quinion lay at our house that night. --Dickens.
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6. To be still or quiet, like one lying down to rest.
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The wind is loud and will not lie. --Shak.
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7. (Law) To be sustainable; to be capable of being
maintained. "An appeal lies in this case." --Parsons.
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Note: Through ignorance or carelessness speakers and writers
often confuse the forms of the two distinct verbs lay
and lie. Lay is a transitive verb, and has for its
preterit laid; as, he told me to lay it down, and I
laid it down. Lie is intransitive, and has for its
preterit lay; as, he told me to lie down, and I lay
down. Some persons blunder by using laid for the
preterit of lie; as, he told me to lie down, and I laid
down. So persons often say incorrectly, the ship laid
at anchor; they laid by during the storm; the book was
laying on the shelf, etc. It is only necessary to
remember, in all such cases, that laid is the preterit
of lay, and not of lie.
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{To lie along the shore} (Naut.), to coast, keeping land in
sight.
{To lie at the door of}, to be imputable to; as, the sin,
blame, etc., lies at your door.
{To lie at the heart}, to be an object of affection, desire,
or anxiety. --Sir W. Temple.
{To lie at the mercy of}, to be in the power of.
{To lie by}.
(a) To remain with; to be at hand; as, he has the
manuscript lying by him.
(b) To rest; to intermit labor; as, we lay by during the
heat of the day.
{To lie hard} or {To lie heavy}, to press or weigh; to bear
hard.
{To lie in}, to be in childbed; to bring forth young.
{To lie in one}, to be in the power of; to belong to. "As
much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." --Rom.
xii. 18.
{To lie in the way}, to be an obstacle or impediment.
{To lie in wait}, to wait in concealment; to lie in ambush.
{To lie on} or {To lie upon}.
(a) To depend on; as, his life lies on the result.
(b) To bear, rest, press, or weigh on.
{To lie low}, to remain in concealment or inactive. [Slang]
{To lie on hand},
{To lie on one's hands}, to remain unsold or unused; as, the
goods are still lying on his hands; they have too much
time lying on their hands.
{To lie on the head of}, to be imputed to.
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What he gets more of her than sharp words, let it
lie on my head. --Shak.
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{To lie over}.
(a) To remain unpaid after the time when payment is due,
as a note in bank.
(b) To be deferred to some future occasion, as a
resolution in a public deliberative body.
{To lie to} (Naut.), to stop or delay; especially, to head as
near the wind as possible as being the position of
greatest safety in a gale; -- said of a ship. Cf. {To
bring to}, under {Bring}.
{To lie under}, to be subject to; to suffer; to be oppressed
by.
{To lie with}.
(a) To lodge or sleep with.
(b) To have sexual intercourse with.
(c) To belong to; as, it lies with you to make amends.
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from
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)
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.
from
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
390 Moby Thesaurus words for "lay":
Brautlied, Christmas carol, Kunstlied, Liebeslied, Volkslied,
abate, accredit, address, advance, aim, air, alba, align, allay,
allege, alleviate, anesthetize, ante, ante up, anthem, appease,
aria, art song, aspect, assign, assuage, attemper, attitude,
attribute, aubade, azimuth, back, ball, ballad, ballade, ballata,
bank the fire, barcarole, be intimate, bearing, bearings, bent,
benumb, bet, bet on, blues, blues song, blunt, board, boat song,
boom, bridal hymn, brindisi, burden with, call, calm, calypso,
canso, canticle, canto, cantus, canzone, canzonet, canzonetta,
carol, cast, cast loose, cast out devils, cavatina,
celestial navigation, chanson, chant, chantey, charge, chasten,
cite, civil, clap on ratlines, clear hawse, cohabit, come together,
commit adultery, conciliate, congregational, constrain, control,
cool, copulate, couple, course, cover, crawl, credit, croon,
croon song, current, cushion, cut loose, dab, damp, dampen,
de-emphasize, dead reckoning, deaden, deaden the pain, defuse,
demand, deposit, descant, diapason, diddle, diminish, direction,
direction line, dirge, ditty, downplay, drag, dress, drift,
drinking song, drop, dub, dulcify, dull, ease, ease matters,
enjoin, epithalamium, equalize, establish, even, exact, exorcise,
exposure, extenuate, fade, fasten upon, fell, fix, flatten, flush,
folk song, foment, fornicate, freight with, frig, frontage, gamble,
game, give relief, grade, grease, grovel, harrow, haul, haul down,
have sex, have sexual relations, hazard, heading, heave,
heave apeak, heave round, heave short, helmsmanship, hymeneal,
hymn, impose, impose on, impose upon, impute, inclination, incline,
inflict on, inflict upon, kedge, keep within bounds, laic, laical,
lay a wager, lay aloft, lay down, lay flat, lay ghosts, lay level,
lay low, lay on, lay out, lay the dust, lenify, lessen, level,
levy, lie, lie down, lie flat, lie limply, lie prone,
lie prostrate, lie with, lied, lighten, lilt, line,
line of direction, line of march, line of position, lodge, log,
loll, lounge, love song, love-lilt, lubricate, lull, make a bet,
make it with, make love, make out, mate, matin, measure,
meet a bet, melodia, melodic line, melody, minstrel song,
minstrelsy, mitigate, moderate, modulate, mollify, mount, mow,
national anthem, navigation, nonclerical, nonecclesiastical,
nonministerial, nonordained, nonpastoral, nonreligious, note, numb,
obtund, offer, oil, orientation, pacify, pad, palliate, park,
parlay, pass, pilotage, piloting, placate, place, plane, planish,
plaster, play, play against, play down, plunge, point, pose, posit,
position, position line, post, poultice, pour balm into,
pour balm on, pour oil on, present, propitiate, prothalamium, punt,
put, put down, put on, put upon, quarter, radio bearing, range,
rase, ratline down, raze, recline, reduce, reduce the temperature,
refer, refrain, relieve, repose, reposit, rest, restrain, roll,
roll flat, run, saddle with, salve, screw, seat, secular,
secularist, secularistic, see, serena, serenade, serenata, serve,
service, set, set down, settle, shave, slacken, slake, sleep with,
slow down, smooth, smooth down, smooth out, smooth over, smoothen,
smother, sober, sober down, soften, solo, solo part, song, soothe,
soprano part, spar down, spawn, sprawl, spread, stake, stand pat,
station, steamroll, steamroller, steerage, steering, stick, stifle,
strain, stream the log, stupe, subdue, subject to, submit,
suppress, tame, task, tax, temper, temporal, tendency, tenor,
theme song, tone down, torch song, track, train, tranquilize,
traverse a yard, treble, trend, tune, tune down, turn, underplay,
unlash, unsacred, unspell, wager, war song, warble, warp, way,
weaken, wedding song, weight down with, yoke with
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