LYING
What does "LYING" mean?
Telling falsehoods; or being in or assuming a horizontal resting position.
Meanings
- Present participle of 'lie': saying something untrue with intent to deceive. She knew he was lying the moment his story changed.
- Present participle of 'lie': being in or moving into a flat, horizontal position. The dog was lying in the one patch of afternoon sun.
- Habitually untruthful. That lying weasel promised me the same job twice. informal
Did you know?
- English has two completely unrelated verbs that both become 'lying': 'lie' meaning to deceive (Old English 'leogan') and 'lie' meaning to recline (Old English 'licgan'). They look like twins but share no ancestor.
Word origin
Both senses spell their participle 'lying'. 'Lie' (to deceive) is from Old English 'leogan'; 'lie' (to recline) is from Old English 'licgan'; the spelling collides because both drop '-ie' and add '-ying'.
Remember it
Note the I in LYING: you can't spell it without an 'I' - and a lie always starts with the 'I' who tells it.
A little poem
He's lying down, and lying through his teeth-
one word for resting, one for what's beneath.
couplet
Wordplay
- I was lying on the couch all day, but only about how much work I'd done.
What it teaches
A lie buys you the present and mortgages every future conversation; the interest is paid in trust.
Quick facts
What does LYING mean?
Telling falsehoods; or being in or assuming a horizontal resting position.
Is LYING a valid word?
Yes — LYING is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is LYING?
LYING has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does LYING come from?
Both senses spell their participle 'lying'. 'Lie' (to deceive) is from Old English 'leogan'; 'lie' (to recline) is from Old English 'licgan'; the spelling collides because both drop '-ie' and add '-ying'.
What can LYING teach us?
A lie buys you the present and mortgages every future conversation; the interest is paid in trust.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.