Lain

Lain

Verb (past participle) · /leɪn/

Definition

Past participle of lie (to recline, to be in a horizontal position). Used in perfect tenses: has lain, had lain, having lain. Not to be confused with laid, which is the past participle of lay (to put something down).

Origin

From Old English gelegen, past participle of licgan (to lie, to recline), from Proto-Germanic *legjaną. The lie/lay/lain versus lay/laid confusion is one of the most persistent grammatical difficulties in English, arising from the historical overlap and phonetic similarity of the two verbs.