Topic: LITERATURE
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Sense: 1-3
| Date: | 1800-1900 |
| Origin: | LAY1 |
| Date: | 1200-1300 |
| Language: | Old French |
| Origin: | lai |
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lay4 [countable]
1
the lay of the land
a) the situation that exists at a particular time : 
Get the lay of the land before you make any decisions.
Get the lay of the land before you make any decisions.b) the appearance of an area of land, for example the way it slopes
2 the appearance of something and where each part of it is : Mr. Lowe will give you the lay of the camp and tell you what we're going to be doing.
the lay of something
Mr. Lowe will give you the lay of the camp and tell you what we're going to be doing.4 literaryAL a poem or song
