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waylay - 4 dictionary results

way⋅lay

  [wey-ley, wey-ley]
Use waylay in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -laid, -lay⋅ing.
1. to intercept or attack from ambush, as in order to rob, seize, or slay.
2. to await and accost unexpectedly: The actor was waylaid by a swarm of admirers.
Origin:
1505–15; way 1 + lay 1 , after MLG, MD wegelagen to lie in wait, deriv. of wegelage a lying in wait

Related forms:
waylayer, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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way·lay   (wā'lā')   
tr.v.   way·laid (-lād'), way·lay·ing, way·lays
  1. To lie in wait for and attack from ambush. See Synonyms at ambush.
  2. To accost or intercept unexpectedly.
way'lay'er n.
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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Waylay

Way"lay`\ (?; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Waylaid; p. pr. & vb. n. Waylaying.] [Way + lay.] To lie in wait for; to meet or encounter in the way; especially, to watch for the passing of, with a view to seize, rob, or slay; to beset in ambush.

Falstaff, Bardolph, Peto, and Gadshill shall rob those men that we have already waylaid. --Shak.

She often contrived to waylay him in his walks. --Sir W. Scott.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : waylay
Spanish: atacar,
German: auflauern,
Japanese: 待ち伏せする
More Translations »

waylay 
"to ambush," 1513, from way + lay (v.), on model of M.L.G., M.Du. wegelagen "besetting of ways, lying in wait with evil or hostile intent along public ways."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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