lai

[ ley ]

/ leɪ /

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noun

(in medieval French literature)

a narrative poem written in octosyllabic couplets and dealing with tales of adventure and romance.

a lyric poem, often a love poem, having great metrical variety and designed to be sung to a popular melody.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of lai

1200–50; Middle English <Old French. See lay⁴

Words nearby lai

La Hogue, Lahontan, Lahore, Lahr, Lahti, lai, LAIA, Laibach, laic, laicism, laicize

How to use lai in a sentence

The creative team behind the new My Lai project is working out the details for set design.
The My Lai Massacre Inspires an Opera|Asawin Suebsaeng|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Lai last saw Knox a few days ago, she said, at a Vietnamese sandwich shop a couple of blocks from the Hong Kong building.
What Amanda Knox Is Up to Now|Winston Ross, Barbie Latza Nadeau|March 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
On our October 1971 trip Kissinger gave Zhou En-Lai our draft of a joint communiqué for the looming summit.
Winston Lord on Crafting the Shanghai Communique with Kissinger|Winston Lord|February 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST
With his suggestive humor and wit, popular writer Xu Lai represented a new challenge to the authorities in Beijing.
The Blogger Who Got Stabbed|Richard Bernstein|February 18, 2009|DAILY BEAST

Xu Lai then moved his blog to another host, renaming it "Qian Leixian Still Wants to Speak"—or the Prostate Is Still Enflamed.
The Blogger Who Got Stabbed|Richard Bernstein|February 18, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Je lai confie mon chef de musique qui soccupe de vous composer une marche approprie notre musique sur la thme de la vtre.
The History of the 51st (Highland) Division 1914-1918|Frederick William Bewsher
It was more simply turned, however, than was the general cast of the sirventes, and rather resembled the lai of a Norman minstrel.
The Fair Maid of Perth|Sir Walter Scott
The Lai and the Virelai are so nearly related that they must be considered together.
Ballades and Rondeaus, Chants Royal, Sestinas, Villanelles, etc,|Various
The Virelai (ancien) is a lai that preserves a sequence of rhymes throughout.
Ballades and Rondeaus, Chants Royal, Sestinas, Villanelles, etc,|Various
In the Lai each fresh stanza of the poem has its own two rhyme sounds, without reference to the preceding ones.
Ballades and Rondeaus, Chants Royal, Sestinas, Villanelles, etc,|Various