Wiktionary

lye

See also: lyé, -lye, and Lye

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English leye, lye, from Old English lēah, lēag (“lye”), from Proto-West Germanic *laugu, from Proto-Germanic *laugō, from Proto-Indo-European *lewh₃- (“to wash”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Loge, Looie (“lye”), Dutch loog (“lye”), German Low German Loge, Loje, Loog (“lye”), German Lauge (“lye”).

Noun

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lye (countable and uncountable, plural lyes)

  1. An alkaline liquid made by leaching ashes (usually wood ashes).
  2. Potassium or sodium hydroxide (caustic soda).
    • 2019, Namwali Serpell, The Old Drift, Hogarth, page 372:
      She had not left the lye in too long so that the hair would fall out in clumps later.
Derived terms
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Translations
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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Verb

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lye (third-person singular simple present lyes, present participle lyeing or lying, simple past and past participle lyed)

  1. To treat with lye.

Further reading

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Etymology 2

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Variant of lie (“to rest horizontally”) now used in a specialised sense; compare sett.

Verb

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lye (third-person singular simple present lyes, present participle lying, simple past lay, past participle lain or layn)

  1. Obsolete spelling of lie..
    • 1654, John Donne, Loves Diet:
      Now negligent of sports I lye,
      And now as other Fawkners use,
      I spring a mistresse, sweare, write, sigh and weepe:
      And the game kill'd, or lost, goe talk, and sleepe.
    • 1687, [John Dryden], “The Third Part”, in The Hind and the Panther. A Poem, in Three Parts, 2nd edition, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC, page 88:
      But when his foe lyes proſtrate on the plain,
      He ſheaths his paws, uncurls his angry mane;
      And, pleas'd with bloudleſs honours of the day,
      Walks over, and diſdains th' inglorious Prey, […]

Noun

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lye (plural lyes)

  1. Obsolete spelling of lie.
  2. (UK, rail transport) A short side line, connected with the main line; a turn-out; a siding.
    • 1962 October, G. Freeman Allen, “The New Look in Scotland's Northern Division—II: The new Perth marshalling yard”, in Modern Railways, page 273, photo caption with indicating arrow:
      Brakevan lye. [same page in the main text] There is also an inclined lye for brakevans at each end of the yard.

References

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“lye”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Etymology 1

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From Old Norse hlýja, from the adjective hlýr.

Alternative forms

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  • lya (a infinitive)

Verb

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lye (present tense lyer, past tense lydde, past participle lytt/lydd, passive infinitive lyast, present participle lyande, imperative ly)

  1. to warm up, give off warmth

Etymology 2

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Verb

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lye (present tense lyar or lyer, past tense lya or lydde, past participle lya or lydd, present participle lyande)

  1. Eye dialect spelling of lyde.

Etymology 3

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective

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lye

  1. inflection of ly:
    1. definite singular
    2. plural

References

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Anagrams

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