lain

L1A1I1N1
/leɪn/

verb

To conceal, keep quiet about.

“He had lain there for many hours.”

Similar
Less commonFirst used 14th–19th c.Scrabble 4

Meanings

lain1

verb
  1. participlepastpast participle of lie (“to be oriented in a horizontal position, situated”)

    He had lain there for many hours.

    2 more examples

    The book had lain on the attic floor until it was found decades later.

    I ascended to my room, and lay down upon the bed. A whole hour I must have lain thus, with my head resting upon my hand.

    1867, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, chapter XII, in The Gambler, translated by C. J. Hogarth^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Gambler_(1867)/XII)
  2. nonstandardparticiplepastpast participle of lay (“to put down”)

    Synonyms: laid

lain2

verblain (third-person singular simple present lains, present participle laining, simple past and past participle lained)

present singular third person lains · participle present laining · participle past lained · past lained · alternative lean · alternative len

  1. obsoleteTo conceal, keep quiet about.First known use 14th–19th c.

    Also broder sir Agrauayne and sir mordred in lyke wyse sir Launcelot rescowed yow bothe and thre score and two from sir Turquyn / Me thynketh broder suche kynde dedes and kyndenes shold be remembryd / doo as ye lyst sayd syr Agrauayne for I wylle layne it no lenger

    1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “j”, in Le Morte Darthur, book XX

Lain3

proper nounLain (plural Lains)

plural Lains

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

Origin

lain · verb

Inflected forms.

Full word history & related roots →

lain · verb

  1. Proto-Germanic*laugnō“secrecy”
  2. Proto-Germanic*laugnijaną
  3. Old Englishlīeġnan“to deny; conceal”
  4. Old Norseleyna“to conceal”
  5. Middle Englishlainen
  6. Englishlain

From Middle English lainen, leynen, from Old Norse leyna (“to conceal”) and Old English līeġnan (“to deny; conceal”); both from Proto-Germanic *laugnijaną, from Proto-Germanic *laugnō (“secrecy”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Dutch gelegen
  • gelegensituated horizontally
Esperanto kuŝinta
  • kuŝintasituated horizontally
German gelegen
  • gelegensituated horizontally
Indonesian berbaring, membaringkan
  • berbaringsituated horizontally
  • membaringkansituated horizontally
  • dibaringkansituated horizontally
  • terbaringsituated horizontally
Japanese 横になった
  • 横になった (yoko ni natta)situated horizontally
Spanish tumbado
  • tumbadosituated horizontally

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with lain

All rhymes →

Sounds the same

lane (pane–pain merger)lane (pane–pain merger)

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

lain. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lain

MLA

“lain.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lain. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lain,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lain.

Source: lain on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.