Faith & RitualGreek → English
Laity
/ˈleɪɪti/noun
The members of a church who are not clergy, or non-specialists generally.
The Greek roots
λαϊκός
laïkós
of the common people
Literally: “the state of being one of the people”
Follow a root:λαϊκός1 word
The story of the word
λαός was the people, the crowd as distinct from its priests and leaders. λαϊκός went into Latin as laicus and into English as lay, which then grew the abstract noun laity in the sixteenth century. λαός also builds liturgy, λειτουργία, which in classical Athens meant a public service paid for out of a rich citizen's own pocket, such as fitting out a warship.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Late Latin → Old French → English
- First recorded
- 16th century
The same roots elsewhere
Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.
Same family
laymanlaicliturgy
In a sentence
The synod gave the laity a vote on the appointment for the first time.