lay sister

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noun

a woman who has taken religious vows and habit but is employed in her order chiefly in manual labor.

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Origin of lay sister

First recorded in 1700–10

Words nearby lay sister

laypeople, layperson, lay reader, Laysan, layshaft, lay sister, lay someone low, laytime, lay to, Layton, lay to rest

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

How to use lay sister in a sentence

One police officer was coolly dispatched as he lay wounded on the sidewalk.
France Mourns—and Hunts|Nico Hines, Christopher Dickey|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Just a week after her divorce, she was invited to a wedding by her sister-in-law.
A Sunni-Shia Love Story Imperiled by al Qaeda|Ruth Michaelson|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Lay the butterflied pork loin on the cutting board with the fat cap facing down.
Make Carla Hall’s Roasted Pork Loin With Cranberries|Carla Hall|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Kirke, the 23-year-old younger sister of Girls star Jemima Kirke, is a good example of that herself.
‘Mozart in the Jungle’: Inside Amazon’s Brave New World of Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music|Kevin Fallon|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The cop lay open-eyed with a grievous head wound as Johnson again checked for a pulse.
'Please Don't Die!': The Frantic Battle to Save Murdered Cops|Michael Daly|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A small book, bound in full purple calf, lay half hidden in a nest of fine tissue paper on the dressing-table.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
The seed of discontent was again germinating under the duplicity of the Spanish lay and clerical authorities.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
At the sight, Felipe flung himself on his knees before her; he kissed the aged hands as they lay trembling in her lap.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
To think,” said the younger Englishwoman to her sister, “of this wee mite travelling about in an open motor!
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
Alone Orlean lay trying vainly to forget something—something that stood like a spectre before her eyes.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux

British Dictionary definitions for lay sister

lay sister

noun

a woman who has taken the vows of a religious order but is not ordained and not bound to divine office

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