lie

Meanings

Verb

• To rest in a horizontal position on a surface.
• To be placed or situated.
• To abide; to remain for a longer or shorter time; to be in a certain state or condition.
• Used with in: to be or exist; to belong or pertain; to have an abiding place; to consist.
• Used with with: to have sexual relations with.
• Used with on/upon: to be incumbent (on); to be the responsibility of a person.
• To lodge; to sleep.
• To be still or quiet, like one lying down to rest.
• To be sustainable; to be capable of being maintained.
• To give false information intentionally with intent to deceive.
• To convey a false image or impression.
• To be mistaken or unintentionally spread false information.

Noun

• The terrain and conditions surrounding the ball before it is struck.
• The terrain and conditions surrounding the disc before it is thrown.
• The position of a fetus in the womb.
• A manner of lying; relative position.
• An animal's lair.
• An intentionally false statement; an intentional falsehood.
• A statement intended to deceive, even if literally true.
• Anything that misleads or disappoints.

Related

Similar words

• prevaricate

Origin

• From Middle English lien, liggen, from Old English liċġan, from Proto-West Germanic *liggjan, from Proto-Germanic *ligjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ-.
• Cognate with West Frisian lizze, Dutch liggen, German liegen, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål ligge, Swedish ligga, Icelandic, Faroese and Norwegian Nynorsk liggja, Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌲𐌰𐌽; and with Latin lectus ("bed"), Irish luighe, Russian лежа́ть, Albanian lag ("troop, band, encampment").
• As a noun for position, the noun has the same etymology above as the verb.
• From Middle English lien ("to lie, tell a falsehood"), from Old English lēogan ("to lie"), from Proto-West Germanic *leugan, from Proto-Germanic *leuganą ("to lie"), from Proto-Indo-European *lewgʰ- ("to lie, swear, bemoan").
• Cognate with West Frisian lige ("to lie"), Low German legen, lögen, Dutch liegen ("to lie"), German lügen ("to lie"), Norwegian ljuge/lyge, Danish lyve ("to lie"), Swedish ljuga ("to lie"), and more distantly with Bulgarian лъжа ("to lie"), Russian лгать ("to lie"), ложь.
• From Middle English lie, from Old English lyġe ("lie, falsehood"), from Proto-Germanic *lugiz ("lie, falsehood"), from Proto-Indo-European *lewgʰ- ("to tell lies, swear, complain"). Cognate with Old Saxon luggi ("a lie"), Old High German lugi, lugin (German Lüge), Danish løgn ("a lie"), Bulgarian лъжа́ ("а lie"), Russian ложь ("а lie").