Lays

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. Places something down carefully on a surface or position ; sings or delivers a short, simple song or poem, often storytelling in style
2. Puts an object in a particular spot ; performs or creates a brief lyrical or narrative piece
3. Sets something down in a location ; expresses or recites a melody or verse typically with a straightforward structure

Etymology: The surprise here is that the verb "lay" is a causative: it means "to make something lie down," and its older cousin, "lie," is the intransitive form. English once kept these apart carefully, and the confusion between them is a long-running habit rather than a modern mistake. Old English had "lecgan," meaning "to cause to lie," which grew out of a Germanic root shared with German "legen," Dutch "leggen," and Swedish "lägga," all meaning "to lay." "Lays" is simply the third-person singular present of the verb (he, she or it lays something down), and it also serves as the plural of the noun "lay." That noun came from the same verb, and the "lay" of a song or poem is a separate, unrelated word that picked up its own history from Old French.

Synonyms: places, puts, sets, deposits, positions

Antonyms: takes, removes, raises, lifts, picks