Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Lie?

\Lie\ (l[imac]), n. See {Lye}.
\Lie\ (l[imac]), n. [AS. lyge; akin to D. leugen, OHG. lugi, G. l["u]ge, lug, Icel. lygi, Dan. & Sw. l["o]gn, Goth. liugn. See {Lie} to utter a falsehood.] 1. A falsehood uttered or acted for the purpose of deception; an intentional violation of truth; an untruth spoken with the intention to deceive. The proper notion of a lie is an endeavoring to deceive another by signifying that to him as true, which we ourselves think not to be so. --S. Clarke. It is willful deceit that makes a lie. A man may act a lie, as by pointing his finger in a wrong direction when a traveler inquires of him his road. --Paley. 2. A fiction; a fable; an untruth. --Dryden. 3. Anything which misleads or disappoints. Wishing this lie of life was o'er. --Trench. {To give the lie to}. (a) To charge with falsehood; as, the man gave him the lie. (b) To reveal to be false; as, a man's actions may give the lie to his words. {White lie}, a euphemism for such lies as one finds it convenient to tell, and excuses himself for telling. Syn: Untruth; falsehood; fiction; deception. Usage: {Lie}, {Untruth}. A man may state what is untrue from ignorance or misconception; hence, to impute an untruth to one is not necessarily the same as charging him with a lie. Every lie is an untruth, but not every untruth is a lie. Cf. {Falsity}.
\Lie\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Lied} (l[imac]d); p. pr. & vb. n. {Lying} (l[imac]"[i^]ng).] [OE. lien, li[yogh]en, le[yogh]en, leo[yogh]en, AS. le['o]gan; akin to D. liegen, OS. & OHG. liogan, G. l["u]gen, Icel. lj[=u]ga, Sw. ljuga, Dan. lyve, Goth. liugan, Russ. lgate.] To utter falsehood with an intention to deceive; to say or do that which is intended to deceive another, when he a right to know the truth, or when morality requires a just representation.
\Lie\, v. i. [imp. {Lay} (l[=a]); p. p. {Lain} (l[=a]n), ({Lien} (l[imac]"[e^]n), Obs.); p. pr. & vb. n. {Lying}.] [OE. lien, liggen, AS. licgan; akin to D. liggen, OHG. ligen, licken, G. liegen, Icel. liggja, Sw. ligga, Dan. ligge, Goth. ligan, Russ. lejate, L. lectus bed, Gr. le`chos bed, le`xasqai to lie. Cf. {Lair}, {Law}, {Lay}, v. t., {Litter}, {Low}, adj.] 1. To rest extended on the ground, a bed, or any support; to be, or to put one's self, in an horizontal position, or nearly so; to be prostate; to be stretched out; -- often with down, when predicated of living creatures; as, the book lies on the table; the snow lies on the roof; he lies in his coffin. The watchful traveler . . . Lay down again, and closed his weary eyes. --Dryden. 2. To be situated; to occupy a certain place; as, Ireland lies west of England; the meadows lie along the river; the ship lay in port. 3. To abide; to remain for a longer or shorter time; to be in a certain state or condition; as, to lie waste; to lie fallow; to lie open; to lie hid; to lie grieving; to lie under one's displeasure; to lie at the mercy of the waves; the paper does not lie smooth on the wall. 4. To be or exist; to belong or pertain; to have an abiding place; to consist; -- with in. Envy lies between beings equal in nature, though unequal in circumstances. --Collier. He that thinks that diversion may not lie in hard labor, forgets the early rising and hard riding of huntsmen. --Locke. 5. To lodge; to sleep. Whiles I was now trifling at home, I saw London, . . . where I lay one night only. --Evelyn. Mr. Quinion lay at our house that night. --Dickens. 6. To be still or quiet, like one lying down to rest. The wind is loud and will not lie. --Shak. 7. (Law) To be sustainable; to be capable of being maintained. ``An appeal lies in this case.'' --Parsons. Note: Through ignorance or carelessness speakers and writers often confuse the forms of the two distinct verbs lay and lie. Lay is a transitive verb, and has for its preterit laid; as, he told me to lay it down, and I laid it down. Lie is intransitive, and has for its preterit lay; as, he told me to lie down, and I lay down. Some persons blunder by using laid for the preterit of lie; as, he told me to lie down, and I laid down. So persons often say incorrectly, the ship laid at anchor; they laid by during the storm; the book was laying on the shelf, etc. It is only necessary to remember, in all such cases, that laid is the preterit of lay, and not of lie. {To lie along the shore} (Naut.), to coast, keeping land in sight. {To lie at the door of}, to be imputable to; as, the sin, blame, etc., lies at your door. {To lie at the heart}, to be an object of affection, desire, or anxiety. --Sir W. Temple. {To lie at the mercy of}, to be in the power of. {To lie by}. (a) To remain with; to be at hand; as, he has the manuscript lying by him. (b) To rest; to intermit labor; as, we lay by during the heat of the day. {To lie hard} or {heavy}, to press or weigh; to bear hard. {To lie in}, to be in childbed; to bring forth young. {To lie in one}, to be in the power of; to belong to. ``As much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.'' --Rom. xii. 18. {To lie in the way}, to be an obstacle or impediment. {To lie in wait}, to wait in concealment; to lie in ambush. {To lie on} or {upon}. (a) To depend on; as, his life lies on the result. (b) To bear, rest, press, or weigh on. {To lie low}, to remain in concealment or inactive. [Slang] {To lie on hand}, {To lie on one's hands}, to remain unsold or unused; as, the goods are still lying on his hands; they have too much time lying on their hands. {To lie on the head of}, to be imputed to. What he gets more of her than sharp words, let it lie on my head. --Shak. {To lie over}. (a) To remain unpaid after the time when payment is due, as a note in bank. (b) To be deferred to some future occasion, as a resolution in a public deliberative body. {To lie to} (Naut.), to stop or delay; especially, to head as near the wind as possible as being the position of greatest safety in a gale; -- said of a ship. Cf. {To bring to}, under {Bring}. {To lie under}, to be subject to; to suffer; to be oppressed by. {To lie with}. (a) To lodge or sleep with. (b) To have sexual intercourse with. (c) To belong to; as, it lies with you to make amends.
\Lie\ (l[imac]), n. The position or way in which anything lies; the lay, as of land or country. --J. H. Newman. He surveyed with his own eyes . . . the lie of the country on the side towards Thrace. --Jowett (Thucyd.).