name · noun · 6 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.
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Pronunciation
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UK, US:/ˈliəs/
rhymes with -iəs
1
name
Meaning 1
A stratigraphic group from the lower Jurassic of Western Europe, consisting of thin layers of blue limestone.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: geography, geology, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
name
Meaning 2
The lower Jurassic.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
Topics: geography, geology, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
name
Meaning 3
A surname.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A type of blue limestone present in parts of southern England and Wales.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
Alternative letter-case form of Lias.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
plural of LIA
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: form-of, plural
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
See lias.
Originally dialectal, from Old French liois (“compact limestone”) (French liais), from Medieval Latin liae, plural of lia; doublet of lees (which is via Latin lias). Ultimate origin uncertain, possibly a Celtic word (such as Gaulish *ligyā) from Proto-Celtic *legyā, from Proto-Indo-European *legh- (“to lie (down)”). Compare Loire and Leicester.