Standard Lemma guide

lain

name · verb · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /leɪn/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -eɪn
  • homophone: lane (pane–pain merger)
  • CMU ARPABET: L EY1 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

name

Meaning 1

A surname.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

past participle of lie (“to be oriented in a horizontal position, situated”)

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, participle, past

Examples

  • He had lain there for many hours.
  • The book had lain on the attic floor until it was found decades later.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

past participle of lay (“to put down”)

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, nonstandard, participle, past

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: laid

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To conceal, keep quiet about.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Inflected forms.

From Middle English lainen, leynen, from Old Norse leyna (“to conceal”) and Old English līeġnan (“to deny; conceal”); both from Proto-Germanic *laugnijaną, from Proto-Germanic *laugnō (“secrecy”).

Across languages

Translations

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: gelegen — situated horizontally
  • German: gelegen — situated horizontally
  • Indonesian: berbaring — situated horizontally
  • Indonesian: membaringkan — situated horizontally
  • Indonesian: dibaringkan — situated horizontally
  • Indonesian: terbaring — situated horizontally
  • Japanese: 横になった (yoko ni natta) — situated horizontally
  • Spanish: tumbado — situated horizontally