Meanings
lait1
present singular third person laits · participle present laiting · participle past laited · past laited · alternative late
- UKambitransitivedialectalobsoleteTo seek; search for; inquire.
By neeght, o' my bed, I laited him, at my sowl luvs : I laited him, but I dudn't find um.
1862, Song of Solomon, in Twenty-four English Dialects, page 282 (Westmorland dialect)1 more example
The other day I heard a girl hailing from the moorlands of Yorkshire remark that she had "laited a long time for the children, but could not find them," evidently meaning she had sought for them. Is this word common to Yorkshire?
1877, John Frances, quoting a girl from the moorlands of Yorkshire, Notes and queries, page 10
Lait2
Origin
lait · verb
- Proto-Indo-European*wel-“to see”
- Proto-Germanic*wlaitōną“to look out, see”
- Old Norseleita“to seek, search, inquire”
- Middle Englishlaiten
- Englishlait
From Middle English laiten, leiten, from Old Norse leita (“to seek, search, inquire”), from Proto-Germanic *wlaitōną (“to look out, see”), from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“to see”). Cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk leita (“to search”), Icelandic leita (“to search”), Swedish leta (“to search, hunt, forage”), Old English wlātian (“to gaze, observe, look upon, behold”).
More words from Middle English, Old Norse, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Lait · proper noun
- Old Norsehlað“pile, stack; barn”
- EnglishLait
From Old Norse hlað (“pile, stack; barn”), a topographic surname for someone who lived near a barn.
More words from Old Norse
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
lait. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lait
“lait.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lait. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lait,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lait.
Source: lait on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.