lie
English
editPronunciation
edit- IPA(key): /laɪ̯/
Audio (General American): (file) - Rhymes: -aɪ
- Homophones: lye, lai, Leigh (some placenames)
Etymology 1
editFrom Middle English lien, liggen, from Old English liċġan, from Proto-West Germanic *liggjan, from Proto-Germanic *ligjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ-.
Cognate with West Frisian lizze, Dutch liggen, German liegen, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål ligge, Swedish ligga, Icelandic, Faroese and Norwegian Nynorsk liggja, Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌲𐌰𐌽 (ligan); and with Latin lectus (“bed”), Irish luí, Russian лежа́ть (ležátʹ), Albanian lag (“troop, band, encampment”).
As a noun for position, the noun has the same etymology above as the verb.
Verb
editlie (third-person singular simple present lies, present participle lying, simple past lay or laid, past participle lain or laid or (obsolete) lien) See usage notes.
- (intransitive) 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
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 68:13:
- 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.
- 1660, [John] Dryden, Astraea Redux:
- The watchful traveller […] / Lay down again, and closed his weary eyes.
- 1849, Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers:
- Our uninquiring corpses lie more low / Than our life's curiosity doth go.
- 1892, James Yoxall, chapter 5, in The Lonely Pyramid:
- 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.
- (intransitive) To be placed or situated.
- 1988, Robin D. S. Yates, “Selected Translations”, in Washing Silk: The Life and Selected Poetry of Wei Chuang (834?-910)[1], Harvard University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 100:
- Ying-yang county lies 70 li southwest of the modern Teng-feng county, Honan.
- 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:
- 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.
- 2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52:
- 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.
- (intransitive, copulative) 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.
- Used with in: to be or exist; to belong or pertain; to have an abiding place; to consist.
- c. 1690, Jeremy Collier, Of Envy:
- Envy lies between beings equal in nature, though unequal in circumstances.
- 1693, [John Locke], “§2016”, in Some Thoughts Concerning Education, London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], →OCLC:
- He that thinks that diversion may not lie in hard labour, forgets the early rising and hard riding of huntsmen.
- Used with with: to have sexual relations with.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 39:7:
- And it came to passe after these things, that his masters wife cast her eyes vpon Ioseph, and shee said, Lie with me.
- Used with on/upon: to be incumbent (on); to be the responsibility of a person.
- (archaic) To lodge; to sleep.
- 1632, John Evelyn, diary, entry 21 October 1632:
- While I was now trifling at home, I saw London, […] where I lay one night only.
- 1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, chapter 10, in The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC:
- Mr. Quinion lay at our house that night.
- To be still or quiet, like one lying down to rest.
- c. 1607–1608, William Shakeſpeare, The Late, And much admired Play, Called Pericles, Prince of Tyre. […], London: Imprinted at London for Henry Goſſon, […], published 1609, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
- The Wind is lowd, and will not lie till the Ship be cleard of the dead.
- (law) To be sustainable; to be capable of being maintained.
- 1737, Cart against Marsh (legal case)
- An appeal lies in this case from the ordinary to the arches.
- 1737, Cart against Marsh (legal case)
Usage notes
editSee the usage notes of lay.
Conjugation
editinfinitive | (to) lie | ||
---|---|---|---|
present tense | past tense | ||
1st-person singular | lie | lay | |
2nd-person singular | lie, lyest† | lay, layst† | |
3rd-person singular | lies, lyeth† | lay | |
plural | lie | ||
subjunctive | lie | lay | |
imperative | lie | — | |
participles | lying | lain, lien† |
Derived terms
edit- beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder
- deep-lying
- devil lies in the details
- forlie
- here lies
- if you lie with dogs you will get fleas
- let lie
- let sleeping dogs lie
- let the sleeping dogs lie
- 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
- lie-in
- 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 to
- lie upon
- lie waste
- lie with
- love-lies-bleeding
- make one's bed and lie in it
- see how the land lies
- sit-lie
- that way madness lies
- therein lies the rub
- therein lies the rub
- there lies the rub
- uneasy lies the head that wears a crown
- you make the bed you lie in
Related terms
editTranslations
edit
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Noun
editlie (plural lies)
- (golf) The terrain and conditions surrounding the ball before it is struck.
- (disc golf) The terrain and conditions surrounding the disc before it is thrown.
- (medicine) The position of a fetus in the womb.
- A manner of lying; relative position.
- An animal's lair.
Derived terms
editTranslations
editEtymology 2
editFrom 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 lie, swear, bemoan”).
Cognate with West Frisian lige (“to lie”), Low German legen, lögen (“to lie”), Dutch liegen (“to lie”), German lügen (“to lie”), Norwegian ljuge/lyge (“to lie”), Danish lyve (“to lie”), Swedish ljuga (“to lie”), and more distantly with Bulgarian лъжа (lǎža, “to lie”), Polish łgać (“to lie”), Russian лгать (lgatʹ, “to lie”), ложь (ložʹ, “falsehood”).
Verb
editlie (third-person singular simple present lies, present participle lying, simple past and past participle lied)
- (intransitive) 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.
- Don't lie to me!
- 2003, “The Package”, performed by A Perfect Circle:
- 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 mine
- (intransitive) To convey a false image or impression.
- Photographs often lie.
- (intransitive, 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.
Conjugation
editinfinitive | (to) lie | ||
---|---|---|---|
present tense | past tense | ||
1st-person singular | lie | lied | |
2nd-person singular | lie, liest† | lied, liedst† | |
3rd-person singular | lies, lieth† | lied | |
plural | lie | ||
subjunctive | lie | lied | |
imperative | lie | — | |
participles | lying | lied |
Synonyms
editDerived terms
editTranslations
edit
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Etymology 3
editFrom Middle English lie, from Old English lyġe (“lie, falsehood”), from Proto-Germanic *lugiz (“lie, falsehood”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewgʰ- (“to tell lies, swear, complain”). Cognate with Old Saxon luggi (“a lie”), Old High German lugī, lugin (“a lie”) (German Lüge), Danish løgn (“a lie”), Bulgarian лъжа́ (lǎžá, “а lie”), Russian ложь (ložʹ, “а lie”), Czech lež (“a lie”), Middle Polish łeż (“a lie”), Serbo-Croatian laž (“a lie”).
Noun
editlie (plural lies)
- An intentionally false statement; an intentional falsehood.
- Synonyms: alternative fact, deception, fabrication, falsehood, fib, leasing, nonsense, prevarication, tall tale, whopper; see also Thesaurus:lie
- Antonym: truth
- I knew he was telling a lie by his facial expression.
- 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:
- Man everywhere is the born enemy of lies.
- A statement intended to deceive, even if literally true.
- Synonym: half-truth
- (by extension) Anything that misleads or disappoints.
- 1835, Richard Chenevix Trench, the Story of Justin Martyr:
- Wishing this lie of life was o'er.
- 2007, Erik Wolpaw, Chet Faliszek, Portal:
- The cake is a lie.
Derived terms
edit- a lie has no legs
- barefaced lie
- belie
- big lie
- blue lie
- butler lie
- don't tell a 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 bump
- lie detection
- lie detector
- lie like a rug
- little white lie
- live a lie
- noble 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
- where's the lie
- white lie
- without a word of a lie
- zombie lie
Translations
edit
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Further reading
editAnagrams
editFinnish
editPronunciation
editVerb
editlie
- (dialectal) third-person singular potential present of olla
- Se on missä lie.
- It's somewhere. / I wonder where it is.
- Tai mitä lie ovatkaan.
- Or whatever they are.
- Kyllä asia lie juuri näin.
- Yes, the thing supposedly is just like that.
Usage notes
edit- This form is commonly used in certain dialects, like the North Karelian dialect, and is also quite common colloquially in other regions. In standard Finnish, the word is only used in highly literary or solemn contexts. Can be used with any person. As a main verb, the form simply occurs in present tense. As an auxiliary verb form, it may take place in the perfect tense form of any verb. In dialectal use, the form can typically be seen in both direct and indirect questions.
Synonyms
editDerived terms
editFurther reading
edit- “lie”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish][2] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-12-01
Anagrams
editFrench
editEtymology 1
editInherited from Old French lie, from Early Medieval Latin lias (“lees, dregs”) (descent via winemaking common in monasteries), from Gaulish *ligyā, *legyā (“silt, sediment”) (compare Welsh llai, Old Breton leh (“deposit, silt”)), from Proto-Celtic *legyā (“layer”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie”).
Noun
editlie f (plural lies)
Derived terms
editEtymology 2
editVerb
editlie
- inflection of lier:
Further reading
edit- “lie”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
editMandarin
editRomanization
edit- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 咧
lie
- Nonstandard spelling of liē.
- Nonstandard spelling of lié.
- Nonstandard spelling of liě.
- Nonstandard spelling of liè.
Usage notes
edit- Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.
Old French
editEtymology
editFrom Early Medieval Latin lias (“lees, dregs”) (descent via winemaking common in monasteries), from Gaulish *ligyā, *legyā (“silt, sediment”) (compare Welsh llai, Old Breton leh (“deposit, silt”)), from Proto-Celtic *legyā (“layer”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie”).
Noun
editlie oblique singular, f (oblique plural lies, nominative singular lie, nominative plural lies)
- dregs; mostly solid, undesirable leftovers of a drink
Descendants
edit- → English: lees
Old Irish
editEtymology
editFrom Proto-Celtic *līwanks (compare *līwos), from Proto-Indo-European *leh₁w- (“stone”) (compare Ancient Greek λᾶας (lâas, “stone”), Albanian lerë (“boulder”)).
Pronunciation
editNoun
editlie m (genitive lïac or lïacc)
- a stone
- c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 4d15
- In Belzefuth: is béss didu ind lïacc benir il-béim friss, et intí do·thuit foir ɔ·boing a chnámi, intí fora tuit-som immurgu at·bail-side.
- The Beelzebub: it is the custom, then, of the stone that many blows are hit against it, and he who falls upon it breaks his bones; however, he whom it falls on perishes
- c. 845, St Gall Glosses on Priscian, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1975, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. II, pp. 49–224, Sg. 65a1
- Níbu machdath do·rónta día dind lïac.
- It was not a wonder that a god would be made of the stone.
- c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 4d15
Declension
editMasculine k-stem | |||
---|---|---|---|
Singular | Dual | Plural | |
Nominative | lie | liicL | liic |
Vocative | lie | liicL | lïaca |
Accusative | liicN, lieicN | liicL | lïaca |
Genitive | lïac, lïacc | lïac, lïacc | lïacN, lïaccN |
Dative | liicL, lieicL | lïacaib | lïacaib |
Initial mutations of a following adjective:
|
Descendants
editMutation
editOld Irish mutation | ||
---|---|---|
Radical | Lenition | Nasalization |
lie also llie after a proclitic ending in a vowel |
lie pronounced with /l(ʲ)-/ |
unchanged |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
Further reading
edit- Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 lía”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
Portuguese
editVerb
editlie
- inflection of liar:
Spanish
editVerb
editlie
Swedish
editEtymology
editFrom Old Swedish līe, lē, from Old Norse lé, from Proto-Germanic *lewô, from Proto-Indo-European *leu- (“to cut”).
Pronunciation
editNoun
editlie c
- scythe; an instrument for mowing grass, grain, or the like.
Declension
editDeclension of lie | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | lie | lien | liar | liarna |
Genitive | lies | liens | liars | liarnas |
Related terms
editReferences
edit- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/aɪ
- Rhymes:English/aɪ/1 syllable
- English terms with homophones
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *legʰ-
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English copulative verbs
- English terms with archaic senses
- en:Law
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Golf
- en:Disc golf
- en:Medicine
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *lewgʰ-
- English colloquialisms
- English class 5 strong verbs
- English irregular verbs
- English three-letter words
- Finnish 1-syllable words
- Finnish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Finnish/ie
- Rhymes:Finnish/ie/1 syllable
- Finnish non-lemma forms
- Finnish verb forms
- Finnish dialectal terms
- Finnish terms with usage examples
- French terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- French terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *legʰ-
- French terms inherited from Old French
- French terms derived from Old French
- French terms inherited from Early Medieval Latin
- French terms derived from Early Medieval Latin
- French terms derived from Gaulish
- French terms derived from Proto-Celtic
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French feminine nouns
- French non-lemma forms
- French verb forms
- Hanyu Pinyin
- Mandarin non-lemma forms
- Mandarin nonstandard forms
- Old French terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Old French terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *legʰ-
- Old French terms inherited from Early Medieval Latin
- Old French terms derived from Early Medieval Latin
- Old French terms derived from Gaulish
- Old French terms derived from Proto-Celtic
- Old French lemmas
- Old French nouns
- Old French feminine nouns
- Old Irish terms inherited from Proto-Celtic
- Old Irish terms derived from Proto-Celtic
- Old Irish terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Old Irish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Old Irish lemmas
- Old Irish nouns
- Old Irish masculine nouns
- Old Irish terms with quotations
- Old Irish k-stem nouns
- Portuguese non-lemma forms
- Portuguese verb forms
- Spanish non-lemma forms
- Spanish verb forms
- Swedish terms derived from Old Swedish
- Swedish terms derived from Old Norse
- Swedish terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Swedish terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Swedish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Swedish lemmas
- Swedish nouns
- Swedish common-gender nouns