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One who, or that which, underlays or is underlaid; a lower layer.

] Betwixt undern and noon was the field all won. R. of Brunne. In a bed of worts still he lay Till it was past undern of the day. Chaucer.

To lay stones, masonry, etc., under, as the sills of a building, on which it is to rest.

The layer, or stratum, of earth on which the mold, or soil, rests; subsoil.

Specifically, to take upon one's self solemnly or expressly; to lay one's self under obligation, or to enter into stipulations, to perform or to execute; to covenant; to contract. I 'll undertake to land them on our coast. Shak.

To put off; to lay aside, as a garment. [Obs.] Spenser.

To open, as anything covered or close; to lay open to view or contemplation; to bring out in all the details, or by successive development; to display; to disclose; to reveal; to elucidate; to explain; as, to unfold one's designs; to unfold the principles of a science. Unfold the passion of my love. Shak.…

To open, in general; to lay open; to undo. Unlock your springs, and open all your shades. Pope. [Lord] unlock the spell of sin. J. H. Newman.

To strip of a mask or disguise; to lay open; to expose.

To unfold; to lay open; to explain. [Obs.] Chaucer.

To free from rumples; to spread or lay even,

nd also to deposits of loose material, as the glacial till, which occur in masses without layers or strata.

Aside, so as not to be in use; as, to lay up riches; put up your weapons.

Stretched out face upward; flat on the back. [Obs.] " He lay upright." Chaucer. Upright drill (Mach.), a drilling machine having the spindle vertical.

Fig.: Any place of burial; the grave. Or lay these bones in an unworthy urn, Tombless, with no remembrance over them. Shak.

my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as a usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury. Ex. xxii. 25.

The posterior pigmented layer of the iris; -- sometimes applied to the whole iris together with the choroid coat.

er naturally or artificially; a glossy appearance. The varnish of the holly and ivy. Macaulay.

The act of laying on varnish; also, materials for varnish.

A laying waste; waste; depopulation; devastation. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.