Wordwyrt

lair

/ˈleə/LUH
/ˈlɛɹ/LER

Meaningto lie down

Common meaning: a wild animal's den

Journey through time

  1. Aryan root · reconstructed√LAGH‘lie down’No written record; from Skeat’s list of Aryan roots, no. 318, p. 741 · scan
  2. Old Englishlicgan‘to lie down’source
  3. Old Englishmeaning shiftsto lie down → a couch, bedleger‘a couch, bed’sourceB&T
  4. Englishmeaning shiftsa couch, bed → a wild animal's denlair‘a wild animal's den’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Old English licgan ‘to lie down’.

Roots

  • licgan Old English “to lie down”

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