Laity — • The body of the faithful, outside of the ranks of the clergy Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Laity Laity † … Catholic encyclopedia
Laity — La i*ty (l[=a] [i^]*t[y^]), n. [See {Lay}, a.] 1. The people, as distinguished from the clergy; the body of the people not in orders. [1913 Webster] A rising up of the laity against the sacerdotal caste. Macaulay. [1913 Webster] 2. The state of a … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
laity — ► NOUN (the laity) ▪ lay people … English terms dictionary
laity — body of people not in religious orders, early 15c., from Anglo Fr. laite, from LAY (Cf. lay) (adj.) + ITY (Cf. ity) … Etymology dictionary
laity — [lā′i tē] n. pl. laities [ LAY3 + ITY] 1. all the people not included among the clergy; laymen collectively 2. all the people not belonging to any given profession … English World dictionary
Laity — In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a… … Wikipedia
Laity — (Roget s Thesaurus) < N PARAG:Laity >N GRP: N 1 Sgm: N 1 laity laity flock fold congregation assembly brethren people Sgm: N 1 society society =>(U.S.) GRP: N 2 Sgm: N 2 temporality … English dictionary for students
Laity — Derived from the Latin Laicus, Greek Laikos, from Laos, meaning people. The word means of, or pertaining to the People as distinguished from the Clergy. The term was first used in the second century. It ought to be noticed that the term Laity … American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia
laity — [[t]le͟ɪɪti[/t]] N SING COLL: also no det The laity are all the people involved in the work of a church who are not clergymen, monks, or nuns. The Church and the laity were increasingly active in charity work... Clergy and laity alike are divided … English dictionary
Laity — Recorded many spellings including Lawtie, Lawtey, Lattaty Latty, Laity, Laitie, Lattie, Latey, Lattee, Latia, and no doubt others, this is a Northern English and Scottish surname. It is locational either from an estate known as The lands of… … Surnames reference
