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Origin and history of lain

lain

past participle of lie (v.2).

Entries linking to lain

lie(v.2)

"rest horizontally, be in a recumbent position," Middle English lien, from Old English licgan (class V strong verb; past tense læg, past participle legen) "be situated, have a specific position; remain; be at rest, lie down," from Proto-Germanic *legjan (source also of Old Norse liggja, Old Saxon liggian, Old Frisian lidzia, Middle Dutch ligghen, Dutch liggen, Old High German ligen, German liegen, Gothic ligan "to lie"), from PIE root *legh- "to lie down, lay."

Especially "to lie in bed," hence often with sexual implications, as in lie with "have sexual intercourse" (c. 1300), and compare Old English licgan mid "cohabit with." To lie in "be brought to childbed" is from mid-15c. To lie to at sea is to come to a standstill. To take (something) lying down "receive passively, receive with abject submission" is from 1854.

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    oblate
    order" (source also of words meaning "to spread, to extend," such as Old Church Slavonic steljo "to spread out," Armenian lain...
    populace
    That vast portion, lastly, of the working class which, raw and half-developed, has long lain half hidden amidst its poverty...
    latitude
    suffixed form of root *stele- "to spread, to extend" (source also of Old Church Slavonic steljo "to spread out," Armenian lain...
    flank
    late Old English flanc "flank, fleshy part of the side," from Old French flanc "hip, side," from Frankish or another Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *hlanca- (source also of Old High German (h)lanca, Middle High German lanke "hip joint," German lenken "to bend, turn aside;"
    stretch
    Middle English strecchen, from Old English streccan (transitive and intransitive) "draw out to full length, spread out, prostrate (oneself);" also "to reach or extend in space" (past tense strehte, past participle streht). This is from Proto-Germanic *strakjanan (source also of D
    intervene
    1580s, "intercept" (obsolete), a back-formation from intervention, or else from Latin intervenire "to come between, intervene; interrupt; stand in the way, oppose, hinder," from inter "between" (see inter-) + venire "to come," from a suffixed form of PIE root *gwa- "to go, come."
    head
    Old English heafod "top of the body," also "upper end of a slope," also "chief person, leader, ruler; capital city," from Proto-Germanic *haubid (source also of Old Saxon hobid, Old Norse hofuð, Old Frisian haved, Middle Dutch hovet, Dutch hoofd, Old High German houbit, German Ha
    cap
    late Old English cæppe "hood, head-covering, cape," a general Germanic borrowing (compare Old Frisian and Middle Dutch kappe, Old High German chappa) from Late Latin cappa "a cape, hooded cloak" (source of Spanish capa, Old North French cape, French chape), a word of uncertain or
    rest
    [sleep, repose, slumber] Old English ræste, reste "rest; a bed or couch; intermission of labor; mental peace, state of quiet or repose," from Proto-Germanic *rasto- (source also of Old Saxon resta "resting place, burial-place," Dutch rust, Old High German rasta, German Rast "rest
    look
    Old English locian "use the eyes for seeing, gaze, look, behold, spy," from West Germanic *lokjan (source also of Old Saxon lokon "see, look, spy," Middle Dutch loeken "to look," Old High German luogen, German dialectal lugen "to look out"), a word of unknown origin. Breton lagud

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