layman

Meanings

1. Layperson, someone who is not an ordained cleric or member of the clergy.
2. Someone who is not a professional in a given field.
3. A common person.
4. A person who is untrained or lacks knowledge of a subject.
5. Lay-sister or lay-brother, person received into a convent of monks, following the vows, but not being member of the order.

1. A surname.

Etymology

From Middle English layman, lay man, equivalent to lay (“non-clergy”) + man. Cognate with Old Frisian lēkmann, lēkmonn (“layman”), obsolete Dutch leekeman (“layman”), Old High German leihman (“layman”), Danish lægmand (“layman”), Swedish lekman (“layman”), Norwegian lekmann (“layman”), Icelandic leikmaður (“layman”).