Definition of LAYMAN

layman

Plural: laymen

Noun

  • A non-ordained member of a church; a non-expert.
  • someone who is not a clergyman or a professional person
  • Layperson, someone who is not an ordained cleric or member of the clergy.
  • Someone who is not a professional in a given field.
  • A common person.
  • A person who is untrained or lacks knowledge of a subject.
  • Lay-sister or lay-brother, person received into a convent of monks, following the vows, but not being member of the order.

Examples

  • Carmen is not a professional anthropologist, but strictly a layman.
  • Even a LAYMAN of Words With Friends could see that ’QWERT’ was not a real word.
  • Let me explain it to you [[in layman's terms|in layman's terms]].

Origin / 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”).

Synonyms

layperson, secular

Scrabble Score: 11

layman: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
layman: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
layman: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 13

layman: valid Words With Friends Word