![]() Being obliged as I am occasionally to wade through contracts jam-packed full of legalese - "best endeavours" et al. However, according to my sources, the three fields referred to in the more specific definition of "layman" are ecclesiastical, medical and legal. ![]() I suspect Ms Camel is right in her suggestion as to the original "pure" meaning of lay/laic/layman - referring in all cases to the uninitiated or unqualified. : I don't think I'm going to find anything like an origin or first use for "layman's terms." Barnhart (HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 1995). (probably about 1415)." From the "Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology" by Robert K. About 1303 'lai' secular later 'lay' unlearned, uneducated (before 1338). of ordinary people not of the clergy or a profession. : : So maybe layman has an independent existance beyond and before holy orders? ![]() : : According to the American heritage dictionary, on meaning of lay is "Of or typical of the average common man" it comes from the Middle English laie - which is from the old French, lai, which is from late Latin laicus which is from the Greek, laikos from laos meaning the people. I have found a couple of references that define "layman" as "anyone not in Holy Orders." That evolved into denote a person not of a particular calling, etc. : : : I've been asked to find information on the origin of the phrase - in layman's terms. In Reply to: Layman's terms posted by ESC on September 06, 2002 Posted by TheFallen on September 06, 2002
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