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| Date: | 1500-1600 |
| Origin: | way + lay 'to set a trap for' (13-19 centuries) |
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way‧lay
past tense and past participle waylaid [transitive]
past tense and past participle waylaid [transitive]1 if someone waylays you, they stop you when you are going somewhere, for example to attack you or talk to you : They used to waylay him as he came out of the factory.
They used to waylay him as he came out of the factory.2 [usually passive] if you are waylaid, you are delayed when you are doing something - often used humorously to say why you are late :
