layer
Plural: layers
Noun
- single thickness of usually some homogeneous substance
- a relatively thin sheetlike expanse or region lying over or under another
- an abstract place usually conceived as having depth
- "a simile has at least two layers of meaning"
- a hen that lays eggs
- thin structure composed of a single thickness of cells
- A single thickness of some material covering a surface.
- A single thickness of some material covering a surface.
- An item of clothing worn under or over another.
- A (usually) horizontal deposit; a stratum.
- One of the items in a hierarchy.
- One in a stack of (initially transparent) drawing surfaces that comprise an image; used to keep elements of an image separate so that they can be modified independently from one another.
- One of the seven network switch pieces in the Open Systems Interconnection model: application, presentation, session, transport, network, data link, and physical.
- An alternative keymap accessed through a modifier key or toggle.
- A person who lays anything, such as tiles or a wager.
- A mature female bird, insect, etc. that is able to lay eggs.
- A mature female bird, insect, etc. that is able to lay eggs.
- A hen kept to lay eggs; a breed of chicken bred to maximize laying output.
- A shoot of a plant, laid underground for growth.
Verb
Verb Forms: layered, layering, layers
- To arrange in a single thickness, coating, or covering.
- make or form a layer
- "layer the different colored sands"
- To cut or divide into layers.
- To arrange in layers.
Examples
- After the first coat of paint dried, he applied another layer.
- As for which hen we'll cull for next Sunday's dinner, we certainly won't eat Henrietta yet — she's still a prime layer.
- I find seven-layer cake a bit too rich.
- It's cold now but it will warm up this afternoon. Make sure you wear layers.
- Layer the ribbons on top of one another to make an attractive pattern.
- mired in layers of deceit
- She decided to LAYER ’ZING’ onto ’FIZZ’, creating a powerful double word score.
- We keep a flock of layers and flock of broilers.
- When dealing with an infestation of headlice, the first step is to eliminate the layers.
- Wrap the loaf in two layers of aluminum foil before putting it in the oven.
Origin / Etymology
Appears at first glance to be from Middle English leyer, leyare (“a layer of stones or bricks”), equivalent to lay + -er. In which case, ultimately identical to etymology 2 below. For the pronunciation compare prayer.
However, this word layer (referring to a thickness of a material covering a surface) has also been argued to be from a respelling of an obsolete sense of the word lair that was once used by farmers, which had to do with soil. The connecting sense between the usual meaning of lair and the specialised farming meaning was: an area where cows typically rest, the ground being fertilised by their waste. Related to lie, ledger.
Scrabble Score: 8
layer: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordlayer: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
layer: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary