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laity

 - 3 dictionary results

la⋅i⋅ty

  [ley-i-tee]
Use laity in a Sentence
–noun
1. the body of religious worshipers, as distinguished from the clergy.
2. the people outside of a particular profession, as distinguished from those belonging to it: the medical ignorance of the laity.
Origin:
1535–45; lay 3 + -ity
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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la·i·ty   (lā'ĭ-tē)   
n.  

  1. Laypeople considered as a group.

  2. All those persons who are not members of a given profession or other specialized field.


[Middle English laite, from lay, of the laity; see lay2.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

laity 
1541, "body of people not in religious orders," Anglo-Fr. laite, from lay (adj.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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