layman

noun

lay·​man ˈlā-mən 

1

: a person who is not a member of the clergy

The parish council consisted of both clergy and laymen.

2

: a person who does not belong to a particular profession or who is not expert in some field

For a layman, he knows a lot about the law.

Did you know?

Layman is a closed compound of lay man. Lay is an adjective that means "of or relating to the people of a religious faith (but not of its clergy)." The origins of lay and layman go back to Greek laikos, meaning "of the people." Layman was originally used to distinguish between non-clerical people and the clergy before being used to distinguish non-professionals from professionals in a field (such as law or medicine).

Synonyms

• amateur
• dabbler
• dilettante
• hobbyist
• nonexpert
• nonprofessional
• potterer
• putterer
• tinkerer

Examples of layman in a Sentence

For a layman, he knows a lot about the law.

He's an important layman in his church.

Recent Examples on the Web

In layman’s terms, with the hair follicle destroyed, hair cannot grow. —Iman Balagam, Vogue, 22 Oct. 2024

The second event — explained in layman’s terms — is when a tiny bit of the sun, plasma and magnetic fields, is ejected. —Darcie Moran, Detroit Free Press, 3 Oct. 2024

While much of the layman’s conversation around AI has focused on marketing assets and application building, finance teams have also been asking how AI could streamline their work. —Rohit Gupta, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024

But there’s one detail that laymen might overlook that the museum does not. —Ken Makin, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing layman

• layman's terms

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Kids Definition

layman

noun

lay·​man ˈlā-mən 

: a person who is not a member of the clergy or a member of a particular profession