underlay

1. pastsimple past of underlie

present singular third person underlays · participle present underlaying · participle past underlaid · past underlaid

1. transitiveTo lay (something) underneath something else; to put under.

   We underlaid the carpet with felt.

2. transitiveTo provide a support for something; to raise or support by something laid under.

   to underlay a cut, plate, or the like, for printing

3. transitiveTo put a tap on (a shoe).
4. ambitransitivefaultbusinessTo incline from the vertical.

   Synonyms: hade

plural underlays

1. countableuncountableA layer (of earth, etc.) that lies under another; substratum.
2. countableuncountableA soft floor covering that lies under a carpet.
3. countableuncountableAnything that is underlaid.
4. countablehistoricaluncountablemediaA piece of paper pasted under woodcuts, stereotype plates, etc. in a form, to bring them up to the necessary level for printing.
5. countableuncountableentertainmentLyrics; or more specifically, the way in which lyrics are assigned to musical notes.

   The underlay in bar 3 is unclear in Handel's manuscript.