Definitions and meaning of lair
lair
English
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /lɛə/
- (US) IPA(key): /lɛɚ/
- (General Australian) IPA(key): /leː/
- (New Zealand, without the cheer–chair merger) IPA(key): /leə/
- (New Zealand, cheer–chair merger) IPA(key): /liə/
- (Scotland) IPA(key): /leɹ/
- (Lancashire, fair–fur merger) IPA(key): /lɜː(ɹ)/
- Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)
- Homophones: layer (one pronunciation), leer (cheer–chair merger)
Etymology 1
From Middle English leir, leire, lair, lare, from Old English leġer (“couch, bed”), from Proto-Germanic *legrą, from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ-.
Noun
lair (plural lairs)
- A place inhabited by a wild animal, often a cave or a hole in the ground.
- A shed or shelter for domestic animals.
- (figuratively) A place inhabited by a criminal or criminals, a superhero or a supervillain; a refuge, retreat, haven or hideaway.
- (British dialectal) A bed or resting place.
- (Scotland) A grave; a cemetery plot. [from c. 1420]
- 1821, John Galt, Annals of the parish, or, The chronicle of Dalmaling, xlix (page 205 in the 1908 edition):
- […] but few knew the reason, and some thought it was because the deceased were strangers, and had no regular lair. I dressed the two bonny orphans in the best mourning at my own cost […]
-
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- (seduction community) A group where pickup artists meet to discuss and practise seduction techniques.
Synonyms
- (of an animal): burrow (of some smaller mammals), den (of a lion or tiger), holt (of an otter)
- (of a criminal): den, hide-out
Derived terms
- (grave): lair-stone (“tombstone”)
- (general): lairless, lairlike
Translations
Verb
lair (third-person singular simple present lairs, present participle lairing, simple past and past participle laired)
- (British) To rest; to dwell.
- (British) To lay down.
- (British) To bury.
Etymology 2
From Old Norse leir (“clay, mud”). Compare Icelandic leir (“clay”).
Noun
lair (plural lairs)
- (Scotland) A bog; a mire.
Verb
lair (third-person singular simple present lairs, present participle lairing, simple past and past participle laired)
- (transitive, Scotland) To mire.
- (intransitive, Scotland) To become mired.
Etymology 3
Backformation from lairy.
Noun
lair (plural lairs)
- (Australia, New Zealand, colloquial) A person who dresses in a showy but tasteless manner and behaves in a vulgar and conceited way; a show-off.
Derived terms
Etymology 4
Noun
lair (plural lairs)
- Obsolete form of layer.
References
- Wright, Joseph (1902) The English Dialect Dictionary[3], volume 3, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pages 505–506
- “lair”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.
See also
Anagrams
- aril, lari, liar, lira, rail, rial
Scots
Etymology
From Old English lār (“instruction”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈlair/
- Rhymes: -er
Noun
lair (plural lairs)
- lore
- "Ower mony a fair-farrant an rare beuk o precious lair" (second line of "The Raven" translated into Scots).
Source: wiktionary.org