Word Confusion: Lays versus Laze

Posted May 7, 2020 by kddidit in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
14 Jan 2023

This word confusion lays versus laze is a pair of homophones that could trip you out and lay you out flat.

Lays is strictly a third person present verb for the infinitive to lay. That’s it.

Laze is both noun and verb with all its possibilities. Admittedly, discovering that laze can also be an acidic rain was a surprise.

And while lying around is a requirement for lays, a laze can be accomplished sitting up as well as lying down.

NOTE: See the post(s) “Lay versus Lie“, “Lade versus Laid“, “Lie versus Lye“, “Liar vs Lier vs Lyre“, and “Lain versus Lane“.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Lays	Laze
Dempsey Lays Wreath by D. Myles Cullen is in the public domain courtesy of the Department of Defense.	Laze by Sharon Mollerus is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Flickr.
Part of Grammar:
Morpheme: lay Verb, intransitive & transitive Third person present verb: lays Past tense or past participle: laid Present participle: laying	Noun, singular; Verb, intransitive & transitive Plural for the noun: lazes Gerund: lazing Third person present verb: lazes Past tense or past participle: lazed Present participle: lazing
An action in process Put something/someone down Verb, intransitive: To lay eggs To wager or bet To apply oneself vigorously To deal or aim blows vigorously (usually followed by about, at, on, etc.) [Nonstandard] To be in a horizontal, recumbent, or prostrate position, as on a bed or the ground Recline [Of objects] To rest in a horizontal or flat position To be or remain in a position or state of inactivity, subjection, restraint, concealment, etc. To rest, press, or weigh (usually followed by on or upon) To depend (usually followed by on or upon) To be placed or situated To be stretched out or extended Verb, transitive: Put or place something or someone down gently or carefully into a horizontal position	Noun: A spell of idling around A period of ease or indolence [Geology; combines lava + haze] An acidic foggy rain that lingers in the air following a volcanic eruption Formed when erupting lava reacts with sea water Verb, intransitive: Spend time in a relaxed, lazy manner To idle or lounge lazily (often followed by about or around) Verb, transitive: Pass time, life, etc., in a relaxed, lazy way (usually followed by away)
Examples:
Verb, intransitive: The goose lays golden eggs. He lays on his oars with enthusiasm. He lays blows to right and left. Dillinger lays out his plans to rob the bank. He often lays in bed all the morning. The book lays on the table. She lays in ambush. It lays on my mind. The land lays along the coast. When the wind lays, it’ll rain. Verb, transitive: He lays the book down on the desk. Steve lays down on the floor. Darn cat lays in the mud every time it rains. She lays a cover on the bed. He lays his finger on her lips.	Noun: She had a quiet laze in the hammock. One night we decided to invite a couple of close friends over, for an evening of very cheap wine and a laze in the spa. I do prefer a laze in the sun to a sky of laze. It’s been generating plumes of laze as it interacts with seawater. Verb, intransitive: She spent the day at home, reading the papers and generally lazing around. I was too tired to do anything but laze around this weekend. It was a time for mortals to laze and dream by. If I tried to do nothing but laze about, I’d go mad. I left the cat to laze in peace. Verb, transitive: We lazed away a long summer day. They lazed the morning away and that afternoon, they walked down Duke of Gloucester Street. I laze the day away, facing heaven and surrounded by paradise. She’s flying here to meet up before we up and leave again and laze away Christmas at a villa or something.
Phrasal Verb
lays about one lays about someone lays into lays off lays someone off lays someone out lays someone up lays something aside lays something down lays something in lays something on lays something out lays something up lays up
History of the Word:
Old English lecgan is of Germanic origin and related to the Dutch leggen and the German legen.	It was first recorded in 1585–95, as a back formation from lazy.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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