name
Meaning 1
A Tibeto-Burman language of India and Burma.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
lai
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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rhymes with -aɪ
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lī
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/laɪ/
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homophone: Leigh
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homophone: lie
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homophone: lye
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CMU ARPABET: L AY1 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
name
Meaning 2
A surname from Chinese.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
A mostly North European medieval form of lyrical, narrative poem written in octosyllabic couplets that often deals with tales of adventure and romance, with stanzas that do not repeat.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
Initialism of leaf area index.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
Borrowed from Lai Lai.
From Chinese 賴/赖 (lài) (Mandarin: lài, Cantonese: laai6, Hakka: lai).
From Cantonese 黎 (lai4).
From Middle English lai, lay, from Old French lai (“song, lyric, poem”), from Old Frankish *laik, *laih (“play, melody, song”), from Proto-Germanic *laikaz, *laikiz (“jump, play, dance, hymn”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyg- (“to jump, spring, play”). Akin to Old High German leih (“a play, skit, melody, song”), Middle High German leich (“piece of music, epic song played on a harp”), Gothic 𐌻𐌰𐌹𐌺𐍃 (laiks, “a dance”), Old English lācan (“to move quickly, fence, sing”). More at lake.
Across languages
Translations
1 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Polish: lai — form of lyrical, narrative poem