laity

[ ley-i-tee ]

See synonyms for laity on Thesaurus.com

noun

the body of religious worshipers, as distinguished from the clergy.
the people outside of a particular profession, as distinguished from those belonging to it: the medical ignorance of the laity.

Origin of laity

First recorded in 1535–45; lay³ + -ity

Words Nearby laity

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use laity in a sentence

Many ex-members I spoke with felt like financial matters were off limits from the laity.
Another Mega Church Implodes | Warren Throckmorton | September 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The nuns were forbidden to visit the laity in Romsey, and other like ordinances were enjoined.
Bell's Cathedrals: A Short Account of Romsey Abbey | Thomas Perkins
The magistrates and the laity insisted that the clergy must bear their share of the common burden.
Belgium | George W. T. (George William Thomson) Omond
The laity are awaking to the fact that priests are strenuously endeavouring to quench the light of reason in the fogs of faith.
Ancient Faiths And Modern | Thomas Inman
This answer would be exhaustive, if it were the fact that the laity made the law for the theologians.
Ancient Faiths And Modern | Thomas Inman

Formamint Tablets are widely advertised and extravagantly exploited to the laity in Great Britain.
The Propaganda for Reform in Proprietary Medicines, Vol. 1 of 2 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for laity

laity

/ (ˈleɪɪtɪ) /

noun

laymen, as distinguished from clergymen
all people not of a specific occupation

Origin of laity

C16: from lay ³

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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