I. ˈla(a)](ə)r, ˈle], ]ə, Scot ˈlār\ noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English lair, leir, from Old English leger; akin to Old High German legar bed, act of lying, cohabitation, Old Norse legr grave, cohabitation, Gothic ligrs bed; derivative from the root of English lie (I)
1. Scotland : a burial lot in a graveyard
2.
a. dialect Britain : a resting or sleeping place : bed
upon a lair composed of straw with a blanket stretched over it — Sir Walter Scott
b. dialect Britain : a place where pastured livestock lie or rest
c. Britain : a pen or shed for cattle on the way to market or kept for slaughtering
3.
a. : the bed or living place of a wild animal : den
b. : something that resembles the den of an animal: as
(1) : a hidden base of operations
the sinking of a boat by the … pirates to cut off approach to their lair — American Guide Series: Louisiana
believed to be at least one of the chief lairs from which the zeppelins sallied forth to the attack — Times Hist. of the War
(2) : a secret place : hideaway
got up from her lair among the strawberries and wandered across the meadow — John Buchan
the children followed the grown-ups into the house, and retiring to their lair under the sewing machine studied the new personage from safety — Oliver La Farge
II. intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: to make or go to a lair : rest
where shall we lair today for from now we follow new trails — Rudyard Kipling
carnivores of the late Wisconsin period undoubtedly laired … intermittently with human occupation — F.C.Hibben
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Scots, from Middle English (northern dialect) lar learning, from Old English lār lore — more at lore
chiefly Scotland : lore ; especially : knowledge acquired through instruction
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old Norse leir loam, clay; akin to Old Norse līm lime — more at lime
chiefly Scotland : mire , mud
V. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
chiefly Scotland : to cause to sink in the mire
watery flows in which sheep and cattle sometimes lair themselves — William McIlwraith
intransitive verb
chiefly Scotland : wallow