layman

name

1. A surname.

noun

Etymology: From Middle English layman, lay man, equivalent to lay (“non-clergy”) + man. Cognate with Old Frisian lēkmann, lēkmonn (“layman”), obsolete Dutch leekeman (“layman”), Old High German leihman (“layman”), Danish lægmand (“layman”), Swedish lekman (“layman”), Norwegian lekmann (“layman”), Icelandic leikmaður (“layman”).

1. Layperson, someone who is not an ordained cleric or member of the clergy.
2. Someone who is not a professional in a given field.

   “Carmen is not a professional anthropologist, but strictly a layman.”

   “Let me explain it to you [[in layman's terms|in layman's terms]].”

3. A common person.
4. A person who is untrained or lacks knowledge of a subject.

   “should he be held to be just a layman, or does he have some art?”

5. Lay-sister or lay-brother, person received into a convent of monks, following the vows, but not being member of the order.