lie

verb, noun — 21 senses

lie

verb

/laɪ̯/

Etymology

From Middle English lien, liggen, from Old English liċġan, from Proto-West Germanic *liggjan, from Proto-Germanic *ligjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ-. Cognates Cognate with Yola lee, lidge (“to lie”), leigh, leiough (“to idle”), North Frisian lade, lai, laie, lei, lii, läde, läie (“to lie; to lay”), Saterland Frisian lääse (“to lie; to lay”), West Frisian lizze (“to lie”), Alemannic German ligge (“to lie”), Central Franconian lijje (“to lie”), Dutch and Dutch Low Saxon liggen (“to lie”), German liegen (“to lie”), German Low German ligge, liggen (“to lie”), Luxembourgish leien (“to lie”), Yiddish ליגן (lign, “to lie”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål ligge (“to lie”), Faroese and Icelandic liggja (“to lie”), Norwegian Nynorsk ligge, liggja, liggje (“to lie”), Swedish ligga (“to lie”), Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌲𐌰𐌽 (ligan, “to lie, to rest”); and with Irish laigh, luigh (“to lie”), Manx lhie (“lie; lay”), Scottish Gaelic laigh (“lie; lay”), Faliscan 𐌋𐌄𐌂𐌄𐌕 (lecet, “he lies down”), Latin lectus (“bed”), South Picene 𐌅𐌄𐌉𐌀𐌕 (veiat, “to lie”), Ancient Greek λέχομαι (lékhomai, “to lie down”), Albanian lag (“band, encampment, troop”), Belarusian ляжа́ць (ljažácʹ, “to lie”), Bulgarian лежа́ (ležá, “to lie”), Czech ležet (“to lie”), Macedonian лежи (leži, “to lie”), Polish leżeć (“to lie”), Russian лежа́ть (ležátʹ, “to lie”), Serbo-Croatian лѐжати, lèžati (“to lie”), Slovene ležáti (“to lie”), Ukrainian лежа́ти (ležáty, “to lie”), Tocharian B lyäk- (“to lie”). As a noun for position, the noun has the same etymology above as the verb.

9 senses
  1. 1To rest in a horizontal position on a surface.
  2. 2To be placed or situated.
  3. 3To abide; to remain for a longer or shorter time; to be…
  4. 4Used with in: to be or exist; to belong or pertain; to…
  5. 5Used with with: to have sexual relations with.
  6. 6Used with on/upon: to be incumbent (on); to be the…
  7. 7To lodge; to sleep.
  8. 8To be still or quiet, like one lying down to rest.
  9. 9To be sustainable; to be capable of being maintained.
1

To rest in a horizontal position on a surface.

  • The book lies on the table; the snow lies on the roof; he lies in his coffin.
  • Under an oak were lying asleep a pair of shepherds.
4 more examples
  • Though ye haue lien among the pots, yet shall yee bee as the wings of a doue, couered with siluer, and her feathers with yellow gold.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 68:13:
  • The watchful traveller […] / Lay down again, and closed his weary eyes.1660, [John] Dryden, Astraea Redux:
  • Our uninquiring corpses lie more low / Than our life's curiosity doth go.1849, Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers:
  • The desert storm was riding in its strength; the travellers lay beneath the mastery of the fell simoom. Whirling wreaths and columns of burning wind, rushed around and over them.1892, James Yoxall, chapter 5, in The Lonely Pyramid:
2

To be placed or situated.

  • Ying-yang county lies 70 li southwest of the modern Teng-feng county, Honan.1988, Robin D. S. Yates, “Selected Translations”, in Washing Silk: The Life and Selected Poetry of Wei Chuang (834?-910), Harvard University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 100:
  • Hepaticology, outside the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere, still lies deep in the shadow cast by that ultimate "closet taxonomist," Franz Stephani—a ghost whose shadow falls over us all.1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page vii:
1 more example
  • From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52:
3

To abide; to remain for a longer or shorter time; to be in a certain state or condition.

  • to lie waste; to lie fallow; to lie open; to lie hidden; 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.
4

Used with in: to be or exist; to belong or pertain; to have an abiding place; to consist.

  • Envy lies between beings equal in nature, though unequal in circumstances.c. 1690, Jeremy Collier, Of Envy:
  • He that thinks that diversion may not lie in hard labour, forgets the early rising and hard riding of huntsmen.1693, [John Locke], “§2016”, in Some Thoughts Concerning Education, London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], →OCLC:
5

Used with with: to have sexual relations with.

  • And it came to passe after these things, that his masters wife cast her eyes vpon Ioseph, and shee said, Lie with me.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 39:7:
6

Used with on/upon: to be incumbent (on); to be the responsibility of a person.

7

Archaic To lodge; to sleep.

  • While I was now trifling at home, I saw London, […] where I lay one night only.1632, John Evelyn, diary, entry 21 October 1632:
  • Mr. Quinion lay at our house that night.1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, chapter 10, in The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC:
8

To be still or quiet, like one lying down to rest.

  • The Wind is lowd, and will not lie till the Ship be cleard of the dead.c. 1607–1608 (date written), William Shakespeare, [George Wilkins?], The Late, and Much Admired Play, Called Pericles, Prince of Tyre. […], London: […] [William White and Thomas Creede] for Henry Gosson, […], published 1609, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
9

Law To be sustainable; to be capable of being maintained.

  • An appeal lies in this case from the ordinary to the arches.1737, Cart against Marsh (legal case)
Derived terms
61 termsbeauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, butter one's bread and lie in it, deep-lying, devil lies in the details, forelie, forlie, here lies, if you lie with dogs you will get fleas, interlie, let lie, let sleeping dogs lie, let the sleeping dogs lie, lie above, lie ahead, lie around, lie at one's door, lie at one's heart, lie at someone's door, lie at someone's heart, lie back, lie before, lie behind, lie by, lie doggo, lie down, lie ill in one's mouth, lie in ambush, lie in honor, lie-in, lie in, lie in repose, lie in state, lie in the bed one has made, lie in the way, lie in wait, lie like a rug, lie low, lie off, lie on the oars, lie-over, lie over, lie rough, lie to, lie upon, lie waste, lie with, love-lies-bleeding, make one's bed and lie in it, mislie, outlie, overlie, how the land lies, sit-lie, superlie, that way madness lies, therein lies the rub, there lies the rub, truth lies at the bottom of a well, underlie, uneasy lies the head that wears a crown, you make the bed you lie in
Related terms
lay, a corresponding transitive version of this word, lees, lier

lie

noun
Etymology

From Middle English lien, liggen, from Old English liċġan, from Proto-West Germanic *liggjan, from Proto-Germanic *ligjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ-. Cognates Cognate with Yola lee, lidge (“to lie”), leigh, leiough (“to idle”), North Frisian lade, lai, laie, lei, lii, läde, läie (“to lie; to lay”), Saterland Frisian lääse (“to lie; to lay”), West Frisian lizze (“to lie”), Alemannic German ligge (“to lie”), Central Franconian lijje (“to lie”), Dutch and Dutch Low Saxon liggen (“to lie”), German liegen (“to lie”), German Low German ligge, liggen (“to lie”), Luxembourgish leien (“to lie”), Yiddish ליגן (lign, “to lie”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål ligge (“to lie”), Faroese and Icelandic liggja (“to lie”), Norwegian Nynorsk ligge, liggja, liggje (“to lie”), Swedish ligga (“to lie”), Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌲𐌰𐌽 (ligan, “to lie, to rest”); and with Irish laigh, luigh (“to lie”), Manx lhie (“lie; lay”), Scottish Gaelic laigh (“lie; lay”), Faliscan 𐌋𐌄𐌂𐌄𐌕 (lecet, “he lies down”), Latin lectus (“bed”), South Picene 𐌅𐌄𐌉𐌀𐌕 (veiat, “to lie”), Ancient Greek λέχομαι (lékhomai, “to lie down”), Albanian lag (“band, encampment, troop”), Belarusian ляжа́ць (ljažácʹ, “to lie”), Bulgarian лежа́ (ležá, “to lie”), Czech ležet (“to lie”), Macedonian лежи (leži, “to lie”), Polish leżeć (“to lie”), Russian лежа́ть (ležátʹ, “to lie”), Serbo-Croatian лѐжати, lèžati (“to lie”), Slovene ležáti (“to lie”), Ukrainian лежа́ти (ležáty, “to lie”), Tocharian B lyäk- (“to lie”). As a noun for position, the noun has the same etymology above as the verb.

1

Golf, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports The terrain and conditions surrounding the ball before it is struck.

2

The terrain and conditions surrounding the disc before it is thrown.

3

Medicine, Sciences The position of a fetus in the womb.

4

A manner of lying; relative position.

5

An animal's lair.

Synonyms
51 termsalternative fact, anti-fact, invention, bluff, bollocks, bullshit, canard, cap, chin, clanker, contradiction, cram, disinformation, fabrication, falsehood, falsification, fib, flam, goof, hoax, hummer, inveracity, inverity, jive, lie, load of bull, load of crap, load of shit, mendacity, misinformation, mistruth, nonsense, nontruth, pile of crap, pile of shit, pork pie, porker, porky, prevarication, red flag, rubbish, story, swack-up, tall tale, terminological inexactitude, untruism, untruth, whopper, wisker, yanker, yed
Antonyms
fact, truth, verity
Derived terms
lie of the land
Related terms
the cake is a lie, cry wolf, give the lie to, a lie has no legs, lie through one's teeth, I tell a lie, decoy, fake, imitate
Hyponyms
barefaced lie, big lie, butler lie, contextomy, half-truth, fake news, noble lie, obfuscation, white lie
Meronyms
deception, pack of lies, perjury

lie

verb
Etymology

From Middle English lien (“to lie, tell a falsehood”), from Old English lēogan (“to lie”), from Proto-West Germanic *leugan, from Proto-Germanic *leuganą (“to lie”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewgʰ- (“to announce, tell publicly”). Cognates Cognate with Scots lee (“to lie”), North Frisian jooge, leeg, löög (“to lie”), Saterland Frisian ljooge (“to lie”), West Frisian lige (“to lie”), Bavarian liagn (“to lie”), Dutch liegen (“to lie”), German lügen (“to lie”), Luxembourgish léien (“to lie”), Danish lyve (“to lie”), Faroese lúgva (“to lie”), Icelandic ljúga (“to lie”), Norwegian Bokmål juge, lyge, lyve (“to lie”), Norwegian Nynorsk ljuga, ljuge, lyga, lyge (“to lie”), Scanian ljuğa (“to lie”), Swedish ljuga (“to lie”), Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌲𐌰𐌽 (liugan, “to lie”); also Breton le (“vow”), Cornish li (“oath”), Welsh llw (“oath, pledge, vow; curse, swear word”), Latvian lùgt (“to ask; to request; to seek; to plead; to solicit; to invoke; to desire”), Belarusian ілга́ць (ilhácʹ), лга́ць (lhácʹ, “to lie”), Bulgarian лъжа (lǎža, “to lie”), Czech lhát (“to lie”), Kashubian łżec (“to lie”), Macedonian ла́же (láže, “to lie”), Polish łgać (“to lie”), Russian лгать (lgatʹ, “to lie”), Serbo-Croatian ла̀гати, làgati (“to lie”), Slovak luhať (“to lie”), Slovene lagáti (“to lie”).

1

To give false information intentionally with intent to deceive.

  • When Pinocchio lies, his nose grows.
  • If you are found to have lied in court, you could face a penalty.
3 more examples
  • Don't lie to me!
  • It is true that the latter had assumed much more of the fault than was rightly his, but if he lied a little he may be excused, for he lied in the service of a woman, and he lied like a gentleman.1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 54:
  • Lie to get what I came for Lie to get just what I need Lie to get what I crave Lie and smile to get what's mine2003, “The Package”, performed by A Perfect Circle:
2

To convey a false image or impression.

  • Photographs often lie.
3

Colloquial To be mistaken or unintentionally spread false information.

  • Sorry, I haven't seen your keys anywhere...wait, I lied! They're right there on the coffee table.
  • Well, he was up in Wyoming / And drew a bull no man could ride / He promised her he'd turn out / Well, it turned out that he lied1995, Garth Brooks, Dan Roberts, Bryan Kennedy, “The Beaches of Cheyenne”, in Fresh Horses, performed by Garth Brooks:
Synonyms
prevaricate
Derived terms
belie, can't lie, delie, I can't lie, I'm not going to lie, liar, lie along, lieberal, lie by omission, lie in one's throat, lie like a cheap rug, lie like a cheap watch, lie like a dog, lie through one's teeth, outlie, prophe-lie, testilie, the camera never lies

lie

noun
Etymology

From Middle English lie, from Old English lyġe (“lie”), from Proto-Germanic *lugiz (“lie”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewgʰ- (“to announce, tell publicly”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian Löägene (“a lie”), Dutch leugen, logen, loogen (“a lie”), German Lug, Lüge, Lügen (“a lie”), German Low German Lögen (“a lie”), Luxembourgish Ligen (“a lie”), Yiddish ליגן (lign, “a lie”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål løgn (“a lie”), Icelandic lygi, lygn (“a lie”), Norwegian Nynorsk lygn, løgn (“a lie”), Swedish lögn (“a lie”); also Bulgarian лъжа́ (lǎžá, “а lie”), Czech lež (“a lie”), Russian ложь (ložʹ, “а lie”), Polish łeż (“a lie”), Serbo-Croatian ла̑ж, laž (“a lie”), Slovak lož (“a lie”), Slovene lȃž (“a lie”).

1

An intentionally false statement; an intentional falsehood.

  • I knew he was telling a lie by his facial expression.
  • Man everywhere is the born enemy of lies.1840 May 5, Thomas Carlyle, “Lecture I. The Hero as Divinity. Odin. Paganism: Scandinavian Mythology.”, in On Heroes, Hero-Worship and The Heroic in History, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1840, →OCLC, page 4:
2

A statement intended to deceive, even if literally true.

3

Broadly Anything that misleads or disappoints.

  • Wishing this lie of life was o'er.1835, Richard Chenevix Trench, the Story of Justin Martyr:
  • The cake is a lie.2007, Erik Wolpaw, Chet Faliszek, Portal:
4

Slang A liar; a dishonest person.

African-American Vernacular

Derived terms
37 termsa lie can run around the world before the truth can get its boots on, a lie has no legs, barefaced lie, belie, big lie, black lie, blue lie, butler lie, give lie to, give one the lie in one's throat, give someone the lie in their throat, give the lie, give the lie to, I'm telling a lie, I tell a lie, lie-beral, lie bump, lie detection, lie detector, lie like a rug, Lienux, lies beget more lies, little white lie, live a lie, noble lie, no word of a lie, pack of lies, put lie to, put the lie to, put to lie, self-lie, sex, lies and videotape, the cake is a lie, where's the lie, white lie, without a word of a lie, zombie lie

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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