lying

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ˈlaɪ.ɪŋ/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ly‧ing
• Rhymes: -aɪɪŋ

Etymology 1

lie (“to rest in a horizontal position”) +‎ -ing.

Verb

lying

1. present participle and gerund of lie (“to rest in a horizontal position”)
   • 1811, Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility 19:

     Without shutting herself up from her family ... or lying awake the whole night to indulge meditation, Elinor found every day afforded her leisure enough to think of Edward.

Usage notes

Not to be confused with laying.

Noun

lying (plural lyings)

1. The act of one who lies, or keeps low to the ground.
   • 1854, Saint Augustine, Expositions on the Book of Psalms, Psalm LXIV, translated by Philip Schaff et al.

     But whom could the lyings in wait of the human heart escape?

Derived terms

• deep-lying
• high-lying
• low-lying
• lying flat
• lying-in
• lying in wait
• lying panel
• take lying down

 

Translations

act of keeping low to the ground

• Finnish: makuu (fi), makaaminen (fi)
• Galician: xacer (gl)

Etymology 2

lie (“to intentionally give false information”) +‎ -ing.

Verb

lying

1. present participle and gerund of lie (“to intentionally give false information”)

Noun

lying (plural lyings)

1. An act of telling a lie or falsehood.
   • 1653, Jeremy Taylor, “Twenty-five Sermons Preached at Golden Grove; Being for the Winter Half-year, […]: Sermon XX. [Apples of Sodom; or, The Fruits of Sin.] Part II.”, in Reginald Heber, editor, The Whole Works of the Right Rev. Jeremy Taylor, D.D. […], volume V, London: Ogle, Duncan, and Co. […]; and Richard Priestley, […], published 1822, →OCLC, page 298:

     [W]hether a man would fain be pleased with sin, or be quiet and fearless when he hath sinned, or continue in it, or persuade others to it, he must do it by false propositions, by lyings, and such weak discourses as none can believe but such as are born fools, or such as have made themselves so, or are made so by others.

Translations

act of telling a lie

• Arabic: كَذِب (ar) m (kaḏib)
• Bulgarian: лъжа (bg) f (lǎža)
• Finnish: valehtelu (fi), valehteleminen (fi)
• German: lügend (de)

Adjective

lying (not generally comparable, comparative more lying or lyinger, superlative most lying or lyingest)

1. Tending to tell lies, untruthful, mendacious
   • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

     Gloster: Then, Saunder, sit there, the lyingest knave in Christendom.

   • c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act INDUCTION, scene ii]:

     Sly: Ask Marian Hacket, the fat ale-wife of Wincot, if she know me not: if she say I am not fourteen pence on the score for sheer ale, score me up for the lyingest knave in Christendom.

   • 1998, Charlotte Vale Allen, Mixed Emotions‎^[1], Island Nation Press LLC, →ISBN, page 178:

     “God, how you lie, skinny! You’re about the lyingest woman I’ve ever met. I’ll be damned if I’ll keep on asking questions when it’s plain as day you’re not about to give out any answers.

Etymology 3

lye. (a chemical liquid)

Verb

lying

1. simple past and past participle of lye

Further reading

• lie on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• lingy