onlay

O1N1L1A1Y4

verb

To lay or place something on a surface.

OriginMiddle English onleien →
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Meanings

onlay1

verbonlay (third-person singular simple present onlays, present participle onlaying, simple past and past participle onlaid)

present singular third person onlays · participle present onlaying · participle past onlaid · past onlaid

  1. literarytransitiveTo lay or place something on a surface.

onlay2

nounonlay (countable and uncountable, plural onlays)

plural onlays

  1. attributivecountableoftenuncountableA material placed such that it overlaps another.

    Umbilical hernias in many centers are best managed with the use of polypropylene mesh placed in the onlay position or Ventralex-type mesh (Bard Davol) placed intraperitoneally in patients under local anesthesia in a day-surgery setting.

    2015, Evangelos P. Misiakos et al., “Current Trends in Laparoscopic Ventral Hernia Repair”, in JSLS : Journal of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons, volume 19, →DOI
  2. countableuncountabledentistryA restoration that covers one or more cusps of a tooth.

Origin

onlay · verb

  1. Middle Englishonleien
  2. Englishonlay

From Middle English onleien, onleggen (“to lay or place; impose; attack”). Equivalent to on- + lay.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

onlay · noun

From on- + lay.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Layon
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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