Where does “laity” come from?

Laity comes from Old French laite, from Latin laitas, from Ancient Greek λαός, from Proto-Hellenic lāwós, from Proto-Indo-European leh₂wos, ultimately from the root leh₂-.

laity (English): People of a church who are not ordained clergy or...

Definitions

  1. People of a church who are not ordained clergy or...

Ancestry of “laity”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Anglo-Normanlaite—
2Latinlaitas—
3Ancient GreekΛαόςpeople; people assembled
4Proto-Helleniclāwóspeople, crowd
5Proto-Indo-Europeanleh₂wospeople
6Proto-Indo-Europeanleh₂-to bark, howl; to be concealed

Words derived from “laity”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European leh₂- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European leh₂wos →Every word from Proto-Hellenic lāwós →