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Layman is a closed compound of lay man. Lay is an adjective that means "of or relating to the people of a religious faith (but not of its clergy)." The origins of lay and layman go back to Greek laikos, meaning "of the people." Layman was originally used to distinguish between non-clerical people and the clergy before being used to distinguish non-professionals from professionals in a field (such as law or medicine).
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Examples of layman in a Sentence
Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 6 May 2024
Writer, director, composer, editor, and star Shane Carruth elides exposition and layman's speak for realism, relying instead on scientific shorthand, technical jargon, and elliptical storytelling to spin this story of two not-so-eccentric engineers who somewhat accidentally invent a time machine.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 9 Nov. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'layman.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Layman.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/layman. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
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layman
noun
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