Lie /(lī)/

Lie

n.
  1. See Lye.

Lie

n.
  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.
  3. Anything which misleads or disappoints.
    Wishing this lie of life was o'er.

Phrases & Compounds
To give the lie to
To charge with falsehood; as, the man gave him the lie.
White lie
a euphemism for such lies as one finds it convenient to tell, and excuses himself for telling.
Syn. -- Untruth; falsehood; fiction; deception.

-- 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; p. pr. & vb. n. Lying

  1. 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; p. p. Lain; p. pr. & vb. n. Lying

  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. [Obs.]
    The watchful traveler . . . Lay down again, and closed his weary eyes.
  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.
  5. To lodge; to sleep.
    Whiles I was now trifling at home, I saw London, . . . where I lay one night only.
    Mr. Quinion lay at our house that night.
  6. To be still or quiet, like one lying down to rest.
    The wind is loud and will not lie.
  7. To be sustainable; to be capable of being maintained. (Law)
    What he gets more of her than sharp words, let it lie on my head.

Lie

n.
  1. The position or way in which anything lies; the lay, as of land or country.
    He surveyed with his own eyes . . . the lie of the country on the side towards Thrace.