n. & v.
--n.
1. a thickness of matter, esp. one of several, covering a surface.
2 a person or thing that lays.
3 a hen that lays eggs.
4 a shoot fastened down to take root while attached to the parent plant.
--v.tr.
1. a arrange in layers. b cut (hair) in layers.
2 propagate (a plant) as a layer.
Phrases and idioms:
layer-out a person who prepares a corpse for burial.
Derivatives:
layered adj.
Etymology: ME f. LAY(1) + -ER(1)