Dictionary.com
definitions

layaway

[ley-uh-wey]

noun

layaway plan.
an article or item purchased through a layaway plan.

Origin of layaway

First recorded in 1880–85; noun use of verb phrase lay away
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Word Origin and History for layaway

1961, as a system of payments for merchandise, from lay (v.) + away. Earlier in the same sense was Australian lay-by (1930).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper