[lie] vi lay ; lain ; ly.ing [ME, fr. OE licgan; akin to OHG ligen to lie, L lectus bed, Gk lechos] (bef. 12c) 1 a: to be or to stay at rest in a horizontal position: be prostrate: rest, recline "~ motionless" "~ asleep" b: to assume a horizontal position--often used with down c archaic: to reside temporarily: stay for the night: lodge d: to have sexual intercourse--used with with e: to remain inactive (as in concealment) "~ in wait"
2: to be in a helpless or defenseless state "the town lay at the mercy of the invaders" 3 of an inanimate thing: to be or remain in a flat or horizontal position upon a broad support "books lying on the table"
4: to have direction: extend "the route lay to the west"
5. a: to occupy a certain relative place or position "hills ~ behind us" b: to have a place in relation to something else "the real reason ~s deeper" c: to have an effect through mere presence, weight, or relative position "remorse lay heavily on him" d: to be sustainable or admissible
6: to remain at anchor or becalmed
7. a: to have place: exist "the choice lay between fighting or surrendering" b: consist, belong "the success of the book ~s in its direct style" "responsibility lay with the adults" 8: remain; esp: to remain unused, unsought, or uncared for usage see lay -- li.er n -- lie low 1: to lie prostrate, defeated, or disgraced
2: to stay in hiding: strive to avoid notice
3: to bide one's time: remain secretly ready for action
[2]lie n (1697) 1 chiefly Brit: lay 6
2: the position or situation in which something lies "a golf ball in a difficult ~"
3: the haunt of an animal (as a fish): covert
4. Brit: an act or instance of lying or resting [3]lie vb lied ; ly.ing [ME, fr. OE leogan; akin to OHG liogan to lie, OCS lugati] vi (bef. 12c) 1: to make an untrue statement with intent to deceive
2: to create a false or misleading impression ~ vt: to bring about by telling lies "lied his way out of trouble" syn lie, prevaricate, equivocate, palter, fib mean to tell an untruth. lie is the blunt term, imputing dishonesty "lied about where he had been". prevaricate softens the bluntness of lie by implying quibbling or confusing the issue "during the hearings the witness did his best to prevaricate". equivocate implies using words having more than one sense so as to seem to say one thing but intend another "equivocated endlessly in an attempt to mislead her inquisitors". palter implies making unreliable statements of fact or intention or insincere promises "a swindler paltering with his investors". fib applies to a telling of a trivial untruth "fibbed about the price of the new suit". [4]lie n [ME lige, lie, fr. OE lyge; akin to OHG lugi, OE leogan to lie] (bef. 12c) 1 a: an assertion of something known or believed by the speaker to be untrue with intent to deceive b: an untrue or inaccurate statement that may or may not be believed true by the speaker
2: something that misleads or deceives
3: a charge of lying