Standard Lemma guide

layperson

noun · 3 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.

  • General-American: /ˈleɪ.pɜɹ.sən/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: L EY0 P ER1 S IH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A person who is not a cleric.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Holonyms: laity; see also Thesaurus:laity

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

One who is not intimately familiar with a given subject or activity.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The book was written for professionals, but an intelligent layperson could understand most of it.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: nonexpert, nonspecialist

Antonyms: aficionado, expert, professional, specialist

3

noun

Meaning 3

someone who is not a clergyman or a professional person

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: layman, secular

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: commoner, common man, common person

Narrower terms: lay reader

History

Etymology

A lay (“non-clergy, nonclergy”) + person, along the lines of layman.

Across languages

Translations

56 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 俗家 (sújiā) — one who is not a cleric
  • Czech: laik — one who is not a cleric
  • Ecclesiastical Latin: lāicus — one who is not a cleric
  • Finnish: maallikko — one who is not a cleric
  • French: laïc — one who is not a cleric
  • French: laïque — one who is not a cleric
  • German: Laie — one who is not a cleric
  • German: Laiin — one who is not a cleric
  • Greek: αμύητος (amýitos) — one who is not a cleric
  • Ancient Greek: λᾱϊκός (lāïkós) — one who is not a cleric
  • Irish: tuata — one who is not a cleric
  • Italian: laico — one who is not a cleric
  • Italian: laica — one who is not a cleric
  • Japanese: 俗人 (zokujin) — one who is not a cleric
  • Korean: 평신도 (pyeongsindo) — one who is not a cleric
  • Polish: osoba świecka — one who is not a cleric
  • Polish: laik — one who is not a cleric
  • Portuguese: leigo — one who is not a cleric
  • Portuguese: laico — one who is not a cleric
  • Russian: миря́нин (mirjánin) — one who is not a cleric
  • Russian: миря́нка (mirjánka) — one who is not a cleric
  • Slovak: laik — one who is not a cleric
  • Spanish: lego — one who is not a cleric
  • Spanish: laico — one who is not a cleric
  • Swahili: mlei — one who is not a cleric
  • Thai: คฤหัสถ์ (ká-rʉ́-hàt) — one who is not a cleric
  • Thai: ฆราวาส (ká-raa-wâat) — one who is not a cleric
  • Tocharian B: upāsake — one who is not a cleric
  • Tocharian B: upāsakāñca — one who is not a cleric
  • Chinese Mandarin: 外行 (wàiháng) — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • Czech: laik — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • Czech: neodborník — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • Finnish: maallikko — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • Finnish: amatööri — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • French: profane — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • Georgian: დილეტანტი (dileṭanṭi) — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • German: Laie — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • German: Laiin — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • Irish: tuata — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • Italian: profano — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • Italian: profana — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • Japanese: 素人 (shirōto) — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • Polish: laik — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • Portuguese: leigo — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • Russian: дилета́нт (diletánt) — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • Russian: дилета́нтка (diletántka) — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • Russian: люби́тель (ljubítelʹ) — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • Russian: люби́тельница (ljubítelʹnica) — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • Russian: профа́н (profán) — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • Slovak: laik — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • Slovak: neodborník — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • Swedish: lekman — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • Turkish: uzman dışı biri — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • Turkish: uzmanı olmayan biri — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • Turkish: uzman dışı kimse — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject
  • Turkish: uzmanı olmayan kimse — one who is not intimately familiar with a given subject