layman
[ley-muh n]
- a person who is not a member of the clergy; one of the laity.
- a person who is not a member of a given profession, as law or medicine.
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Origin of layman
Usage note
See -man.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for laymen
parishioner, dilettante, outsider, proselyte, secular, novice, recruit, believer, member, follower, neophyte, laic, nonprofessionalExamples from the Web for laymen
Historical Examples of laymen
And the word was invented to distinguish the laymen from the clergymen.
Samantha Among the Brethren, Part 7.Josiah Allen's Wife (Marietta Holley)
In all these respects they have been regarded as laymen from the beginning.
Samantha Among the Brethren, Part 7.Josiah Allen's Wife (Marietta Holley)
They will only be admired by artists of perception, and by laymen of keen sensibility.
Adventures in the ArtsMarsden Hartley
The Tartars are divided into two grand classes—lamas and laymen.
Laymen, he complained, now "advanced" their own laws rather than those of the Church.
Henry VIII.A. F. Pollard
layman
- a man who is not a member of the clergy
- a person who does not have specialized or professional knowledge of a subjectscience for the layman
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Gender-neutral form: layperson
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for laymen
layman
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper