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Layman is a closed compound of lay man. Lay is an adjective that means "of or relating to the people of a religious faith (but not of its clergy)." The origins of lay and layman go back to Greek laikos, meaning "of the people." Layman was originally used to distinguish between non-clerical people and the clergy before being used to distinguish non-professionals from professionals in a field (such as law or medicine).
Synonyms
Examples of layman in a Sentence
Randall Colburn, EW.com, 9 Nov. 2023
Technical writing is a viable career choice for INTPs because of their ability to analyze complex information and break it down into layman’s terms.
—Goldie Chan, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
The eloquent introduction offers great insights into the historical side and is written in a way that the layman can understand.
—Mark Littler, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024
On the occasion of his death in 1873, that of the greatest Catholic layman in Italy and the most important modern intellectual influence in the strengthening and deepening of the Catholic spirit of its people, the pontificate of Pope Pius IX had nothing to say.
—David Harsanyi, National Review, 25 Jan. 2024
The videos explained in layman’s language how Pakistan’s military had kept an iron grip on power.
—Zia Ur-Rehman Saiyna Bashir, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2024
Around 400 Catholic bishops, priests, laymen and laywomen, and vowed religious from around the world joined Pope Francis for three weeks of prayer, dialogue, and listening.
—Heather Wilhelm, National Review, 9 Nov. 2023
Last month, some four hundred and fifty Catholic leaders from around the world—cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests and nuns, professors and students, laymen and women—came together in Rome for four weeks of structured conversations.
—Paul Elie, The New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2023
My layman’s interpretation of that: A white or Asian American applicant, for example, should not be denied admission solely for the purpose of making room for a Black or Latino student.
—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'layman.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Layman.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/layman. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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layman
noun
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