Etymology

lay down

Today it means: To give up, surrender, or yield (e.g. a weapon), usually by placing it on the ground. Full definition →

Middle English leyen doun
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The story

  1. Middle English · inherited fromleyen doun
  2. English todaylay down

From Middle English leyen doun, leien doun (“to lay down”), equivalent to lay + down.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.